DICTUN = INDUCT
RNAENM = MANNER
GADMAE = DAMAGE
AIMURT = ATRIUM
RRDEAK = DARKER
GRITBH = BRIGHT
CARTOON ANSWER:
HE LEARNED HOW TO PLAY BLACKJACK THANKS TO A FRIEND WHO WAS THERE – – –
INT NN DAG ATI DAE BIG = AIDING AND “A-BETTING”
Good Morning, Everyone!
♥️♣️ WHEN THE BLACK IN BLACKJACK CAN PUT YOU IN THE RED ♠️♦️
🎶 I sat there with TWO TENS…I thought I’d have some fun…The DEALER hit SIXTEEN with a FIVE…Just enough to make TWENTY ONE…Hey hey hey, yeah yeah, how unlucky can one man be…Well every quarter I get…Yeah, BLACKJACK takes it away from me…🎶 “Blackjack” – Mr Ray Charles 1957
I’m switching STRATEGY today, and PLAYING my HAND a little differently. It might be a GAMBLE, but I didn’t OPEN the topic…David did. So, if need be, you can SETTLE UP with him later…😉 But if time PERMITS, and I’m feeling LUCKY, I may come back later with a rhyme, and a RUN down on today’s words. Suffice to say, they weren’t any problem, with only ATRIUM making me slightly BLINK…
I’m going to try to give it to you STRAIGHT. I play BLACKJACK, and I’m going to tell you how I was taught. It’s basic, but if you really feel the need to get into details about the GAME, here’s a link to the whole nitty-gritty….
BLACKJACK is a gambling card game in which players try to get cards with a face value as close as possible to 21 without going over; and when playing, you’re only playing against the Dealer. DOUBLING DOWN is when after you’re dealt your two original cards, you choose to double your initial bet in return for a single card – with no further options. You do this, hoping that you’ll either hit a hand that beats the dealer’s or the dealer will bust (go over 21) when their turn comes. It can be risky, but it’s a chance you’ll have to take if you want to be a winner at blackjack.
The doubling down ruling is pretty much the same as the first rule of blackjack – you always assume that any card you can’t see is going to have a value of 10. If you count the four 10s and the 12 face cards, there’s more cards in a deck that are worth that amount than any other value. And since blackjack’s about playing the odds, it’s just the rule of thumb that you go by. So, knowing this, you’ll only want to double down on a hand where the total value of your cards is 11 or less. This way, no matter what card you’re dealt, you’ll never have the chance TO GO OVER 21. You don’t want to put yourself in a position where you’re hedging your bet with the chance of busting. STRATEGY…all STRATEGY.
Ok…with that being said, when it came to today’s puzzle, my usual strategy didn’t PLAY OUT. I usually study the cartoon, and come up with the solution. But today, I needed to write out my letters while looking for the cartoon’s clues. And the big one for me was the word HELP-(ABET) in the dialogue, since it was no GAMBLE guessing that the word BET had to be in there somewhere…I first disallowed HIM and THE for the 3-letter word, since the letters didn’t BACK IT UP, so I knew that it had to be AND. And with the way the question was phrased, I took a shot that the answer words would be past participles, and the ING’s were right there LAID OUT ON THE TABLE. So I took out the words AND and BETTING...leaving me NAIDAIG. …The HELP? AIDING. And that last A gave us the pun that we knew had to be in there because of the quotation marks. ABETTING! AIDING AND “A-BETTING“! Such a common phrase…but now how clever was that? Excellent PLAY on words, David! You’re definitely a WINNER with this one!
Eye candy? The backdrop is a wall lined with black slot machines, and we can see a man and a woman, silhouetted in white. An empty table is shown mid floor. The two men are wearing photo ID Badges that read “2019 Pro Jumblers Fest“. The woman is dressed in a blue T-Shirt that says “World’s Best Grandma“. They all look familiar, and “real”, and I know Jeff’s featured them before. Well the men anyway. The woman? I wouldn’t BET the house on it. The man at left, (except for a slight difference with the hair), looks like Will Shortz, the Hoosier who’s the Crossword Puzzle Editor for The New York Times, and was last seen helping a woman buying a pair of boots on 02/10/2019. But his tag reads “BOB“, so I could be way off THE MARK. The man in the middle, who’s tag reads “JAMES“, I know we’ve seen before, and in Jeff’s gambling cartoons too…in fact, the one of 11/10/2018, where Jeff placed him sitting next to him at a poker game comes to mind. I’m looking at it as we speak…and I think it’s him. Do I want to BET on it? Hmm..I’m still weighing my ODDS…The requisite green felt table shows what Bob is saying…The dealer, sporting a pinkie ring, and who for some reason has his tongue sticking out, is showing a 6 of Clubs, while James has an 8 of Diamonds, and a 3 of Hearts , giving him his 11. But it’s Grandma who seems to be Lady Luck today…. (“Luck Be A Lady” – Frank Sinatra 1965). She’s holding the King of Diamonds for her 10, and the Ace of Spades for her 11. Grandma’s showing “21”…Grandma’s showing…BLACKJACK…Too bad she didn’t make a larger BET! So maybe we should forget all about James. Whether or not he’s scoring on this hand? It’s only NATURAL Grandma’s WIN is IN THE CARDS! Get that woman another drink…on the HOUSE! So, There you have it Folks, Done! Have a great day, Everyone! And remember…If you’re playing Blackjack? Try to Count your Blessings…but ALWAYS COUNT your cards! ♥️🙋🏻
Jumble Answers 
Atrium is my choice for hardest and relieved to be in almost 50% of puzzlers (so far). I’m leaving for a while & will try the solve when I come back. Angela, if you’re where I think you are, remember me? Thanks
Why, where do you think I am? 😂 I just left the 7 o’clock Mass. Did I remember you? In prayer, you mean? Of course…I’m always praying for you!!😉🙋🏻
Hi Everyone –
Great song choice and singer, Angela.
I’m with Jamu and the others regarding atrium. I finally solved it when I tried ium as a possible ending. I initially thought adding would be the first word of the answer but realized I needed one of those d’s for and.
Good Morning, Caroline. Thank you. My first thought was GIVING HIM..but that went out as soon as it came in….I hadn’t looked at any words, as is my wont, and when I did a quick glance I saw there wasn’t a G or an H. Foiled! LOL! But I think this is an amazingly clever puzzle, maybe a little more cerebral than usual. And as for ATRIUM, IMO, I think unless you’re a person who’s living in a high-rise apartment building, the word might not be that easily brought to mind. All in all, it’s a great effort on David’s part. Hope you’re enjoying your morning…The Farmer’s Market, perhaps? 🍓🌽🙋🏻
Yes, Angela, I just got back from the farmers market and some other stops.
I agree it was a very clever Jumble, though it took me less time than most Sunday puzzles.
LOL…I had a feeling you’d be there! I wanted to go today too, but it’s sooo horribly hot and humid, no one was up to going with me. It’s unbearable out there, and no one wants to walk around outdoors. The heat index is near 100! Hope you enjoy the rest of your day! Be well! ❤️🙋🏻
Angela- That’s precisely what I meant and thanks again. 7:00 AM mass, I remember.
In the interim, while flipping pages, I inaverdently saw the solve. So, I’m disqualified, but I don’t believe I would have gotten it anyway. It’s a tort, D&J, I’ll repay with a coffee, but no tart(s).
Jamu..I’m seriously starting to think that you’re responsible for my vertigo flare ups! 😉 How you cause me to SMH!🙄 Disqualified, tort, coffee..but no tarts? I give up! I think I’ll start lighting candles for you instead…Obviously I’m not praying enough! 😂😂 🙋🏻
The rhyme? Don’t BET THE HOUSE…❤️🙋🏻
Deciding to INDUCT the new President in a different MANNER, they chose the BRIGHT ATRIUM, since the usual venue seemed much DARKER…but it may have caused a bit of DAMAGE to their reputation…for they were accused of AIDING AND ABETTING the building management’s bid for a rent increase…
I have to HAND it to David…these weren’t the easiest words to PLAY with! ♣️♦️🙋🏻
The DAMAGE may have all been done, his MANNER none too cool,
He wasn’t BRIGHT in what he did… and now he looked the fool.
A DARKER cloud hung ‘ore his head, as he sat in the ATRIUM,
And thought what could his next move be…he really felt quite numb.
Would they INDUCT him now into a certain Hall of Shame?
Where he’d be known forever for this…and what he became?
The question weighed so heavily…there might be no forgetting…
How he acted so foolishly by AIDING AND ABETTING…
FYI: OK..I did a quick search, starting with our first word INDUCT. I found it way back on 06/30/13, and most recently on 02/12/19. Being pressed for time though, I went to the most recent records, and surprisingly found that all of our words today are not just old favorites, they’re all pretty current. In order of presentation: MANNER was seen on 09/23/18, DAMAGE, 03/25/18, ATRIUM, quite recently, on 06/15/19, DARKER on 06/17/18, and BRIGHT on 05/23/19. But the anagrams seem to all be new. As I said earlier, David played his HAND very well today! ♥️♠️🙋🏻
Count me in with those who struggled with atrium. Had to back into it after getting the cartoon solution. I like your idea of trying “ium” Caroline. Didn’t think of that. All in all it was a clever puzzle. Happy Sunday to all.
Hi Betty. Good Morning. ATRIUM’s leading the PACK today, but take a look at the havoc it caused back in June! It cleared the TABLE! 😉 And I wish you a Happy Sunday too! ❤️🙋🏻
Hi all – I was stuck on ATRIUM until I saw the “IUM” and looked for an element. Then DARKER actually took the longest until I put ER at the end instead of ED.
Had to write down the letters, but then saw BETTING and the answer.
Angela, I noticed you changed the voting category from “None of the above” to “I ACED them all!”. Cute! 😉😂
Have a great Sunday everyone!
“When the clandestine society made the hotel DARKER to INDUCT the new pledge in a SECRET MANNER and wound up causing DAMAGE to the ATRIUM, it showed the idea wasn’t too BRIGHT”.
Hey Steve. Good 👏🏻👏🏻 sentence. But the quip on the poll is all Mike. Cute and clever. Hope you’re having a great day! ❤️🙋🏻
Count me in the atrium crowd.
Duly noted, Professor! Hope you’re enjoying your day! ♥️🙋🏻
Thanks Angela!! I tried for 2 days and still had to give in to your expertise. I agree Atrium was the toughest.
Hi Larry. You’re very welcome. And you weren’t alone…It proved to be the stumper of the day. Here’s to a great night! Enjoy! 🍷🙋🏻