Cryptoquote Solved – 02/18/23

“Before you marry a person, you should first make them use a computer with slow internet to see who they really are.”   —   Will Ferrell

(Despite the two D’s, I first thought the author was Bill Russell!  I was rushing this morning.  That made me mess up the A’s as S’s!  But I quickly corrected myself.  Will Ferrell is one of the funniest people on the planet.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Image courtesy of Google

Jumble Solved – 02/18/23

Visual Description:  Cliff Claven, watching the Celtics lose to the Bullets.

WRNCO  =  CROWN,  AUGGE  =  GAUGE,  UAOARR  =  AURORA,  MHRAEM  =  HAMMER   —   Giving us:  CRNGGEAAHME

Clue/Question:  When the NBA began allowing the 3-point shot in 1979, it was a – – –

Answer:  GAME–CHANGER

(Wow, Cliff!  1961?  I didn’t even know what basketball was in 1961.  Well, I was only four years old then.  I did have an inkling of baseball and football, but just barely.  By 1979 though I was a big basketball fan!  By then I was a big fan of the Baltimore Bullets.  Wes Unseld and Elvin Hayes and Mitch Kupchak and Bob Dandridge and Phil Chenier.  Now THAT was one heck of a team!  Back in those days you really needed a dominant Center, and no one was more imposing than Wes Unseld.  He was only 6’7″ – relatively short for a Center – but he was unbelievably strong.  An outstanding rebounder.  They don’t make them like Wes anymore.

I thought that maybe “aurora” might be a new clue word, but nope.  We’ve seen them all before.  Three of the jumbles are coming up as new, but we have seen “augge” some time before.  The answer letter layout was an elegant eleven letter jumble.  I thought it was properly cryptic.  Strictly speaking, “game changer”  is NOT hyphenated, although game-changing IS.  The English language is full of these kind of oddities!

Fun period piece basketball cartoon.  In 1979 there were still some Afros, and sideburns and bushy mustaches.  And – even though some youngsters laugh at them now – the shorts were MUCH shorter back then!  LOL!  But I enjoyed the style of game back then, better than now.  Yes, I’m no longer much of a basketball fan these days.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

PS.  On this day in 1688 the first formal protest against slavery took place in Germantown, PA, by Quakers.  In 1931 novelist Toni Morrison was born.  And in 1965 Andre Romelle Young, aka Dr. Dre, was born.  Celebrate Black History Month!   —   YUR