ELCTF = CLEFT
PRNUS = SPURN
GLEYCR = CLERGY
IWIGRN = WIRING
CARTOON ANSWER:
THE SMALL MEETING OF THE SHAPES WAS CALLED BY THE – – –
CLERNCERIIN = INNER CIRCLE
Happy Tuesday, Jumble fans! It’s an exciting morning because we have two brand new clue words in the lineup!!! CLEFT and WIRING make their debut into gameplay and they were both jumbled spectacularly. The -ING ending in WIRING made the solution easy to figure out which made me choose CLERGY as the most difficult anagram of the day. We last saw it on 2/29/16 where it was jumbled as GLERCY. With all of the clue words out of the way, it was time to head on over to the cartoon.
The first thing that I noticed about today’s panel was that our normal cast of characters had been replaced by a bunch of random shapes. Moving in a clockwise fashion we see an octagon, square, star, triangle and a rectangle all making an outer ring with a circle standing in the middle. The circle was drawn with a sinister look on its face that Jeff captured perfectly. Its right hand is giving a thumbs up gesture while its left hand has its index finger pointing straight up. The cartoon sentence didn’t provide any additional information as to what the meeting was about, but the dialogue informs us that these shapes are the only ones that can be trusted.
There wasn’t much detail to be seen in this cartoon which was fine because the unique faces on the shapes made it interesting enough. A couple of things did stand out though, with one in particular that left me with a huge smile. The first detail wasn’t so much a detail as it was a layout design choice by the artist. Jeff chose to add a dark and curved banner above the cartoon where he positioned the dialogue of the circle. This effect left the panel in a shape which blended perfectly with the other shapes that we already see. Next up were the circles that made up the floor. We see a tiny portion of a large outer circle that decreases in size until it leads to a bullseye in the middle. This leads me to my favorite detail of the day. Did you notice that the triangle and star were both holding a steaming cup of coffee? Well, when you combine a STAR with a cup o’ joe, what do you get? STARBUCKS, of course!!! Well done, Jeff!
The letter layout for the final solution clocked in at an impressive 10-letters in length. Although it was cryptic, the leading nature of the cartoon sentence coupled with all of the visual clues allowed me to see the answer instantly. The two new clue words made for a dandy of a puzzle, but it still left me craving something a bit more challenging. Have a terrific Tuesday, and I’ll see you tomorrow!
Jumble Answers 
Good Morning, Mike. STARBUCKS! I like it! ☕️🙋🏻
Thanks, Angela! It’s the first day of school which always makes me both 😃 and 😢. Lots of great memories though!!!
Already? 😥😉 Are we the only ones who don’t go back until 2 days after Labor Day? Well, at least you don’t have the heat we have here…Going to be way over 90 DEGREES until Friday…Well, enjoy that cup of coffee this morning..Relaxing, right? 😉🙋🏻
Oh, we’re getting the heat! Mid 90’s all week….. I had to give the talk about “going early to get out early” this morning. It’s reality though. Enjoy your day! 👋🏻
Ah, reality! Poor kids! 😥 I thought you’d be spared the heat…(and let’s not mention the humidity..it’s brutal..) Stay cool..and have a good one! 🔥🙋🏻
🎶You got me going in CIRCLES..Oh, ROUND and ROUND I go…You got me going in CIRCLES, ..Oh, ROUND and ROUND I go…I’m spun out over you. I’m a faceless clock, with timeless hopes that never stop. Lord but I feel that way, of my soul. My soul is stay….Oh but what am I to do, my mind is in a whirlpool. Give me a little hope, one small thing to cling to…You got me going in CIRCLES..Oh, ROUND and ROUND I go…🎶 “Going In Circles” – Friends of Distinction 1969
🔴 Clandestine meetings being held, with just this select few…
The Inner Circle’s clear intent to confidence imbue.
Like members of a CLERGY, he calls them in as one,
The Hexagon we don’t see here, a CLEFT for sure begun.
Why SPURN the other shapes we ask, has WIRING been crossed?
In my opinion Octagon appears a little lost…
Amusement seems apparent to the Rectangle and Square,
Does Triangle boast big biceps? It looks that way from here…
The Star, a coffee does imbibe..is he dressed in blue or purple?
What is the requisite to get one in this INNER CIRCLE? 🔴
No need to go round and round with any of our words today, and I found it amusing that CLERGY last appeared on the Leap Year date of 2/29/16! Not a hurdle though…LEAPt right over it! And SPURN wasn’t SPURNed…we saw it on December 14th…but I’m not totally SQUARE on whether we’ve had a MEETING here with CLEFT and WIRING before…I’m still trying to get a STRAIGHT LINE on them.
So, our cartoon…The SHAPE of things to come? Different, right? Easily solved though, with the CIRCLE standing IN the CIRCLE, and our dialogue telling us that this “SELECT FEW could be TRUSTED”! Ones’ INNER CIRCLE! Great MEETING of the minds, Jeff and David! With the SPOT ON drawing, dialogue and question…You’ve definitely come FULL CIRCLE with this one! And it’s such a colorful cartoon today, so let’s go aROUND, starting with SIR CUMFERENCE…He’s a yellow green, but not a mellow one. He’s got a pretty SPHEREce look on his face as he stands on a Red spot. RIGHT behind him, a Red OCTAGON, with his arms at an ANGLE, looking a little OBTUSE, showing bewilderment. Clockwise, a Peach colored SQUARE, hands on hips, smiling. A STAR, steaming cup of coffee in hand, is Blue. No, not sad, because we can see he’s giving the Thumb’s Up with the his LEFT hand, but despite his Black background, his appendages are Blue..TRIANGLE, a Black-backed darker Peach shade, is seen holding a steaming cup of coffee also. He appears to have been doing the RIGHT thing though, because bulging biceps are showing…and lastly, there’s a RECTANGLE, a soft pastel Green…also smiling with his hands on his hips…So, Jeff, is there a POINT to all this? Has SIR CUMFERENCE been aROUND a lot longer than the others, and knows something we don’t? Why did he call them all IN? Is it about DOUGH? NUT again…COS it always seems to be with some of these knock aROUND guys. Does he need a loan perhaps, and someone to COSINE? I mean he doesn’t look exactly RADIANt…I can’t FIGURE this out. Why all the HYPERBOLE? It’s just PLANE confusing! Or is this all ACUTE GEOMETRY joke? I’m lost, and you know Math was never my strong POINT…
So I think I’ll forgo the eye candy today. COS I’m just PUNNING in CIRCLES…and it’s SHAPING up to be too much of a PROBLEM…Well, There you have it Folks, Done! Have a great day, Everyone! And remember…There’s never anything to SPHERE but SPHERE itself! 🔴◾️🙋🏻
A man of the CLERGY with a CLEFT chin might SPURN growing a beard but his mental WIRING will ensure an ecclesiastical bearing.
No problems with the clue words other than a short pause with CLERGY.
I was fairly sure that CIRCLE would be one of the words in the solution but at first I wanted it first, quickly realizing that was wrong.
Great details Mike–I did not see the coffee and loved the “Starbucks” reference.
Always appreciate your telling us when words are new or recycled.
Angela– when I saw the cartoon all I could think of was the song “Find a wheel and it goes round and round….” Yours is more appropriate.
Poem and Puns cannot lower the humidity and temperature up here but they certainly made the morning glorious. Thanks.
I am at the hospital again today so will check in later.
Perry Como in the house! 😂 After you find that wheel, catch a falling star and put it in your pocket! 🙋🏻♂️
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Earl! Your sentence was absolutely brilliant and flowed perfectly. Stay cool today! 👋🏻
Hey Earl…Good afternoon…Thanks for all the Shout Outs…I did a few sentences myself this morning, and I had my man of the cloth with a cleft chin in one of them too…Except a young Kirk Douglas kept clouding my vision..And any thoughts of the Clergy just got besmirched after that! 😉🙄 Enjoyed your sentence, like your Song mention…a nice oldie…Hope you’re getting to relax by now…and I wish you a reprieve from the work and the heat…Ciao, Bello! 🔥🙋🏻
Easy time of it this morning though thought the cartoon was different and very clever. Had to go back to see the cup of coffee in the hands of the triangle and star – Starbucks, Mike good call! Have a happy Tuesday everyone.
It took some extra thinking to figure that detail out, Betty! The cups of coffee were definitely out of place and I knew Jeff had a reasoning behind it. Enjoy your day! 🙂
Hi all – I confess that CLERGY took one extra look – after trying LY at the end didn’t work, I just put the Y there and saw it. At first I thought the answer was going to be ‘Round Table’, but there’s no ‘O’ and the wrong number of letters in the last word.
Mike, your description of the floor and the way the Inner Circle is illuminated made me think they’re standing in the “House” of a curling rink. Hope there are no incoming stones!
🎵”You really got me”🎵 Angela with that song. I should know it – it’s not country nor an obscure show tune, it’s right in my wheelhouse era – and I don’t have the slightest recollection of the song or group even after listening to it. And I was just listening to “Didn’t I blow your mind this time” by the DelFonics that sounds very similar. Just a random omission, I guess.
Have a great day everyone. You’re in a summer swelter, we’ve got 61 degrees and a bit of drizzle this morning; hoping to see the sun early this PM.
Isn’t this the 3rd or 4th time in a week that the -LY trick didn’t work, Steve? I’ve honestly lost count but thought of you this morning when trying it.
We haven’t heard from Lelia in quite some time so I hope she’s feeling better. I would have enjoyed hearing her input on this puzzle.
It’s definitely hot and sticky out today, but my grass has never been this green due to all of the rain that we’ve had. It’s usually burnt to a crisp by now! Here’s hoping the sun returns for your afternoon, my friend! 🙂
Hey G…I don’t know if they’re similar…🎶Didn’t I Blow Your Mind🎶 is more up tempo..The song was covered by a lot of other artists too, if I’m not mistaken…Anyway, I got the 45 right here..if you’d ever care to borrow it!😉 Have a good one, Steve…🎶🙋🏻
I knew circle was in the solution, but I failed to write down the ‘L’ from one of the words. Rectifying that error, the solution quickly followed. Other good news is I am back home and have the hard copy of my newspaper at hand.
Transcribing the letters is one of the trickiest parts of the puzzle, Chuck! We’ve all been down that road before so don’t feel too bad…
I’m glad that you’re home safely after your trip and enjoy that hard copy. I peek out the window every morning when I get up to see if my delivery person “remembered” me. Enjoy the day! 🙂
Good afternoon. I didn’t get this early enough and had to run out again. Thanks Mike for all your information. I didn’t notice the coffee reference. Angela, nice work and I’m going to have to check out that song. It doesn’t ring my bell. Classic Earl as usual, don’t know how you come up with it every day. The words came easy for me with Wiring taking extra seconds. And I was thinking of ing right away. Once I wrote down the letters, the solution came easy. I was pretty sure Circle was was one of the words. After realizing I was missing an “e” from copying down Clergy, it was simple. Until tomorrow stay well.
Hi, Paul! When we didn’t hear from you this morning, I thought that you might have been making another pilgrimage to A/C.
Stay cool today! 👋🏻
No Mike that’s next week. I listened to Angela’s song choice and although I never heard it, I found it interesting. Remember I’m stuck in groups like the Platters, Del Vikings, Moon Glows and my favorite group the Temptations. Especially their rendition of Papa was a rolling stone.
Hey Paul…You’re not stuck..it’s just where you felt the most comfortable in your life..and there’s nothing wrong with that…But I have to say..🎶Papa Was a Rolling Stone🎶? It just doesn’t seem to fit the mold..🤔 Thanks for the Shout Out Brooklyn..Hope you’re keeping cool! Ciao, Bello! 🙋🏻