Cryptoquote Solved – 02/21/23

“Wenever you do a thing . . . ask yourself how you would act were all the world looking at you.”   —   Thomas Jefferson

(If Tommy boy were alive today he would be “canceled” by the #MeToo movement.  It wouldn’t even matter – to that group – if he and Sally Hemings were genuinely in love.  They would say that he used his position of authority to coerce her into their sexual relationship.  It’s like the injustice of a lot of the statutory rape cases, where both parties were teens, and both entered into the relationship consensually.  Intransigent thinking is always going to be intransigent thinking.  Too much in society today is “Zero Tolerance”, and in my opinion that is dangerous.  Intolerance is the greatest threat to democracy.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

PS.  I know WHENEVER is written with a H, but my newspaper omitted the I that would be the H.  How about your newspaper?   —   YUR

Image courtesy of Google

Jumble Solved – 02/21/23

Visual Description:  Under the sea!

PYCTR  =  CRYPT,  ZLAAP  =  PLAZA,  COSOHM  =  SMOOCH,  ZAAALE  =  AZALEA   —   Giving us:  CYPPAASMHALA

Clue/Question:  The bivalve was relaxing on the reef and was – – –

Answer:  HAPPY AS A CLAM

(It’s hard to call this Jumble answer a “stinky pun”, because the phrase/idiom happy as a clam comes from the appearance of clams to always be smiling!  Of course it’s just from the curvature of their shell, and no doubt the initial observation came from a child.  Back in the day, when you had to throw a quarter/coins into a toll bin, to continue on a toll road/bridge, my son used to insist that we go to the lane that had the little smiley face on the green light!  When it would light up he’d say:  He’s smiling at me!  Little kids used to be so easy to amuse.  I could always make them laugh back then.  Ah, the good old days!

All four of today’s clue words have graced previous Jumbles.  Three of the jumbles are coming up as new, for me.  However, we have definitely seen the jumble “cosohm” some time in the past.  And, maybe as before, it was the only jumble to give me any trouble.  Even my daughter wasn’t seeing it, until we knew what letters were missing from the final answer.  Good thing the final answer was pretty obvious to me!  The answer letter layout was a trippy twelve letter jumble.  Decently cryptic.  It might have been slightly more challenging if PLAZA came before CRYPT, but just slightly.

Wonderful under sea cartoon!  It had a little bit for everyone.  A great looking fish talking to the giant clam.  A moray eel poking out from underneath some coral.  A little scuba diver in the distance, complete with bubbles.  And the semi-classic sunken sailboat at the bottom of the sea!  Hey!  Anyone remember that book/movie “The Deep”, by Peter Benchley?  The scene where the giant eel chomps down on Louis Gossett Jr.’s noggin will stay with me to my dying days!  Between great white sharks and giant moray eels it’s a wonder I’ve been back in the ocean since.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

PS.  On this date:  in 1917 Jazz great Thelonious Monk was born.  In 1933 singer/songwriter Nina Simone was born.  In 1936 Barbara Jordan, the first African American elected to the Texas Senate, and the first Southern African American elected to the House of Representatives was born in Houston, TX.  She was easily the best thing ever to come from the state of Texas!   In 1940 civil rights leader, and later Congressman, John R. Lewis was born.  And, on this day in 1965 Malcolm X was assassinated.    Learn about Black History, folks!   —   YUR

Images courtesy of Google