Cryptoquote Solved – 03/31/23

“Someday we’ll find it, the rainbow connection, the lovers, the dreamers and me.”   —   Kermit the Frog

(As voiced by Jim Henson!  But actually written by Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher, for “The Muppet Movie”, way back in 1979.  Williams and Ascher are both still kicking, although I don’t know if they’re still collaborating.  They could be retired.  They’re both kinda up there.  Boy, that Paul Williams really wrote some memorable lyrics!  He wrote “Evergreen”, which Babs Streisand had a monster hit with.  He wrote “An Old Fashioned Love Song”, that was a big hit for Three Dog Night.  He also wrote “You and Me Against the World”, which was one of Helen Reddy’s biggest hits.  And a number of hits that The Carpenters had were written by Paul.  I remember when “Rainbow Connection” was being played on the radio, because of the “Muppet Movie”.  A very frazzled ballet instructor, named Suzanne, used to sing it when she was stressed, at the ballet school where we both worked.  I think she might have been having a bit of a nervous breakdown, or something.  She was extremely high strung!  Ah, the memories that these word puzzles elicit!  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Image courtesy of Google

Jumble Solved – 03/31/23

Visual Description:  A narrative of repose?

PAYOS  =  SOAPY,  CRIEI  =  ICIER,  SCECAS  =  ACCESS,  HORTAT  =  THROAT   —   Giving us:  SOYIIRESSTHRT

Clue/Question:  Daniel Hayes began making mattresses in Sealy, Texas in 1881, and the – – –

Answer:  REST IS HISTORY

(Ba-dum-tsss!  A Beautyrest stinky pun?  No, no, no!  That’s a Simmons product.  They’re Serta the same!  No, this is Sealy.  Why do the three biggest/best known mattress companies start with the letter S?  Even one of the relative newcomers, Saatva, starts with S.  Probably because the word sleep begins with S?  You sleep on a mattress, right?  Sleep on that, and get back to me.  LOL!

All four clue words are on the world famous ralis95 clue word database!  Today we had “soapy”, and a few days ago we had soupy.  Can SAPPY be far behind?  Hey, guess what, David L. Hoyt.  The word SAPPY has never been used as a Jumble clue word, and it meets all the criteria of a Jumble clue word.  Nothing politically incorrect about it either.  So, have at it, Cuz!  Three of the jumbles are coming up as new, but we’ve definitely seen “scecas” in at least one previous Jumble.  They all came to me immediately this morning.  The answer letter layout was a trilling thirteen letter jumble.  Decently cryptic too.  But the clue/question was just so leading.

Great historical cartoon from our good buddy, Jeff Knurek.  I always enjoy his historical cartoons.  And very often I learn something new.  Like today.  I had no idea when the Sealy Mattress company got started, and that its name comes from the town where they were first made.  Were they the first mass-produced innerspring mattress?  I don’t know.  Guess it’s time to do some Googling!  Hey, fellow old folk!  Remember Li’l Abner?  He used to have a job as a mattress tester!  Fun-derful Jumble!  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

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Cryptoquote Solved – 03/30/23

“Would someone please get this big walking carpet out of my way?”   —   Princess Leia,  “Star Wars”

(I think she must have been talking about Chewbacca.  I always found it hard to warm up to Leia.  Carrie Fisher was only mildly attractive, and those side buns were kinda creepy.  The Cryptoquote and the Celebrity Cipher were both pretty easy today.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Image courtesy of Google

Jumble Solved – 03/30/23

Visual Description:  English lesson.

VIHEC  =  CHIVE,  RODPO  =  DROOP,  PHAREM  =  HAMPER,  NSTOAA  =  SONATA   —   Giving us:  CIEDROHPESNA

Clue/Question:  Whoever came up with the expression “turn on a dime” – – –

Answer:  COINED A PHRASE

(An excellent, challenging, stinky pun!  It has a slightly familiar ring to it, but if we have had it before it must’ve been a long long time ago.  And likely in a different context.  When I was a wee lad I had nine dimes, and I thought that I was a wealthy boy.  I had them in the pocket of my short pants, and when my friends and I were playing, rolling down the grass, they all fell out of my pocket!  I searched for them, but to no avail.  I was heartbroken.  Minor tragedies have a way of sticking with you!  Hey, in today’s money those nine dimes would be worth a little more than nine dollars!  It’s possible that some of them were Mercury Dimes too.  They’re pretty rare these days, and valuable.  But of course I likely would have spent them anyway.  But the loss has always stayed with me.

Mr. Hoyt has used four familiar Jumble clue words today.  He even went retro on three of the jumbles.  But we’ve definitely NOT seen “nstoaa” before today.  That was the only one to give me any trouble.  We had CHIDE yesterday, and CHIVE today, and CHIRP a few days ago.  Can CHIME be far behind?  The answer letter layout was a twisty twelve letter jumble.  I thought it was magnificently cryptic!  I was not picking up on the additional coins in the dialog, and struggled to come up with the final answer.  I figured the first word probably ended in ED, but that was it.  So, I rewrote the letters into vowel and consonant groupings, in alphabetical order, or course.  From this I saw PHRASE, and the EIOCDN gave me COINED.

A fine elementary school classroom setting cartoon.  Possibly middle school.  I always try to have coins when I go shopping.  Lots of places either don’t take cash, or they complain that they can’t make change!  When I went to a spring training game – Dodgers vs. Rangers – at Camelback Ranch stadium, they wouldn’t accept cash!  Only credit card.  $17 for a craft beer, but worth it.  $21 – and change – for one regular dog and one big – chili – dog.  It was a Dodger’s home game, so I guess I had my first Dodger Dog!  Oh, the Rangers won, 3 – 1.  Be well and do good, friends.  Play ball!)   —   YUR

Images courtesy of Google

Jumble Solved – 03/29/23

Visual Description:  Friendly??? competition.

DHIEC  =  CHIDE,  TWYIT  =  WITTY,  TCLATE  =  CATTLE,  FNTESO  =  SOFTEN   —   Giving us:  HIDWIATTSTN

Clue/Question:  The girls selling lemonade had new competition, but they felt they could – – –

Answer:  WITHSTAND IT

(An excellent stinky pun!  How many of us had lemonade/kool-aid stands when we were kids?  It was kind of a suburban childhood rite of passage for me!  When I was a little kid Kool-Aid was easier, because there wasn’t powdered lemonade.  That didn’t come out until I was in high school.  If you wanted lemonade your mom would have to make it for you.  Mind you, it’s not rocket science, but just about every little kid can make Kool-Aid.  It’s practically fool-proof!  Selling brownies, or cookies, along with the lemonade/kool-aid, was also a thing.  I always try to patronize a little kid’s lemonade stand.  I guess you’d call it paying it forward, but for me it just takes me back.

All of today’s clue words are members of the ralis95 clue word database.  Three of the jumbles are coming up as new, however we’ve definitely seen “twyit” in a previous Jumble.  I don’t think we’ve seen “chide” in quite a long time.  None of the jumbles tripped me up today.  The answer letter layout was an elusive eleven letter jumble, but the final answer came to me immediately.

Great cartoon of the the little kids competing drink stands.  The little boys look so friendly and happy.  But the girls look downright hostile.  I’ve noticed this over the years with a lot of Jeff’s drawings of women and girls.  It’s a little strange, because I don’t see kids and adults – especially females – this way.  But it is what it is!  And I’m sure he won’t be changing anytime soon.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Images courtesy of Google

Cryptoquote Solved – 03/29/23

“If there ever comes a day when we can’t be together, keep me in your heart; I’ll stay there forever.”   —   A.A. Milne

(A beautiful, rhyming bit of poetry from “Winnie the Pooh”.  My mother was a voracious reader, but unfortunately she wasn’t big on reading to her children.  At least not that I can remember.  And I have a very good memory.  So, I wasn’t really exposed to “Winnie the Pooh” until the Disney features and certain neighborhood friends.  I remember thinking that the name was kind of stupid.  Who calls someone “the Pooh”???  Pooh is something that you wipe and flush, not something that you call someone!  But I grew to love “the Pooh” – Winnie that is – and I kind of equate the story with my favorite childhood song:  “Puff the Magic Dragon”.  They’re both about a child and his stuffed/imaginary friend, and how we tend to put those things aside as we grow up.  To this day, when I hear Peter Paul & Mary singing “Puff the Magic Dragon” it can bring a tear to my eye.  Both of my parents are gone now, as are other relatives and friends, but I will always keep them in heart.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Image courtesy of Google

Cryptoquote Solved – 03/28/23

“I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing – that it all started with a mouse.”   —   Walt Disney

(Even if he wasn’t originally named Mickey!  The world’s best known cartoon character got his start with the name “Steamboat Willy”.  At least that was the name of the first cartoon he was in.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen the entire cartoon, so I don’t know what name he went by in it.  But all things tend to evolve!  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Image courtesy of Google

Jumble Solved – 03/28/23

Visual Description:  Future rental property.

CNUKS  =  SNUCK,  USISE  =  ISSUE,  CEISNK  =  SICKEN,  BINEBL  =  NIBBLE   —   Giving us:  SNUISESIENNBB

Clue/Question:  They were building a small lodging establishment and would soon – – –

Answer:  BE “INN“ BUSINESS

(A very relevant stinky pun, of a very contemporary “side hustle”.  When the wife and I went to Arizona to watch our grandson’s baseball tournament, we stayed in a VRBO property with my step-son and grandson.  Because of spring training MLB, and this tournament, hotel rooms were at an unreasonable premium.  A three bedroom, two bathroom house was much less than half of what it would’ve cost us to book two hotel rooms!  It didn’t quite match the photos, but it was definitely good enough.  It was in a safe residential neighborhood and had a nice amount of amenities.  First time using this kind of accommodations for the wife and me, but the younger generations use them quite frequently.

We have definitely seen all of today’s clue words in past Jumbles.  Three of the jumbles appear to be new, but I can attest to the fact that Hoyt has used “usise” in at least one previous Jumble.  None of them tripped me up today!  The answer letter layout was a terrific thirteen letter jumble.  Sufficiently cryptic.  The words “lodging establishment” in the clue/question, and the quotation marks in the final answer slots made for a quick solve, for me.

Great cartoon of a young couple dealing with their contractor, as he and his workers work on the house.  I guess some folks build them new, but a lot of others just buy up older properties and renovate them.  Whatever works!  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Images courtesy of Google

Cryptoquote Solved – 03/27/23

“There’s not a man, woman or child on the face of the Earth who doesn’t enjoy a tasty beverage.”   —   David Letterman

(I so miss this guy’s sardonic wit!  It was so great seeing him on Jimmy Kimmel Live last week.  He hasn’t lost a step.  Not a fan of the Grampa Moses beard, but I guess he just hates shaving as much as I do.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Image courtesy of Google

Jumble Solved – 03/27/23

Visual Description:  Axe me no questions!

RIHPC  =  CHIRP,  UOYSP  =  SOUPY,  NDLATE  =  DENTAL,  ZENSEE  =  SNEEZE   —   Giving us:  CISOPDTLSNE

Clue/Question:  With her newly sharpened axe, she was able to chop through logs in a – – –

Answer:  SPLIT SECOND

(In a Maine Minute!  Is that a thing???  You know, like in a New York minute!  They’ve got a lot of trees up in Maine, ya know.  I guess that an alternative to this final answer, assuming that the clue/question leaves off the “in a”, and there were other jumbled clue words, could be lickety split!   Store that somewhere in your memory banks, David L. Hoyt!  No charge, cuz!

All four clue words are on the world famous ralis95 clue word database!  Three of today’s jumbles are coming up as new, but we’ve definitely seen “zensee” some time ago.  I actually struggled with two jumbles this morning!  I eventually did get “sneeze”, but it took a while.  But I actually had to back into “dental”!  First time for that in a long, long time.  There was just enough – without the L,T and D – for me to see the final answer.  And then it still took a few looks for me to unwind “ndlate”!  Good thing I’m an idiom savant!

Fine cancel culture cartoon!  Popular media just loves portraying the American males as hapless boobs, while making all women seem like uber-capable Amazons.  I have always been for equality of the sexes, and I suppose some of this is valid payback for the years of portraying all women as the “weaker sex”, but like so much today I think things have gotten a little out of hand.  Hey, if my wife wants to split logs she is welcome to it!  I’d probably chop my damn foot off anyway.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Images courtesy of Google