CEDDEO = DECODE

CNOOHH = HONCHO

VUEQIR = QUIVER

CANTTI = INTACT

BRSADU = ABSURD

SGOPSI = GOSSIP

CARTOON ANSWER:

AFTER NOT BEING LEFT ANYTHING IN THE BILLIONAIRE’S WILL, FAMILY MEMBERS WERE QUICK TO – – –

ECE HN VER IA SR GI = “HEIR” THEIR GRIEVANCES

Good Morning, Everyone!  💸💸 HEIR TODAY….GONE TOMORROW 💸💸

🎶 Oh hot diggity, DOG ziggity, boom what you do to me…It’s so new to me, what you do to me…Hot diggity, DOG ziggity, boom what you do to me when you’re holding me tight…Never knew that my heart could go “zing” that away…Ting-a-ling that away, make me sing that away…Said “goodbye” to my troubles, they went that away, ever since you came into my life…🎶.. “Hot Diggity (Dog Ziggity Boom)” – Perry Como  1956

💸🐶 There’s nothing to DECODE here, it’s seems to be INTACT, 
The Family Head HONCHO’s left some GOSSIP in his tracks…
He’s disowned every one of them, they think it quite ABSURD,
They’re sitting there in disbelief…not liking what they’ve heard…
A lip may start to QUIVER, but what good will it do?
The will is signed, the man has spoke…and now they face their due…
But Rex the Dog got over, with him there’ll be no malfeasance…
He’s smiling wide while all the rest just sit and “HEIR” THEIR GRIEVANCES! 🐶💸

Grievances…I had a hard time getting it to rhyme this morning…And I’m still not that willing to let it go…(I keep tweaking it), but I’ve spent way too much time playing around with syllables, and the show must go on. So…Let’s keep reading…I didn’t have a hard time with any of our words or the solve this morning, but if I had to put my money on something, I guess I’d call it a tie between DECODE and ABSURD…Because those are the two that cost the Early Birds the longest time to solve…But I’m getting ahead of myself…Our words: We’ve seen them all before, with Absurd doing double duty…going back to 09/01/11, and last being seen on 09/01/19.A little quirk there, right? September 1st on them both?…And it’s HONCHO that’s showing up as a true Sweet Repeat, since the anagram of CNOOHH has appeared twice in the past...05/07/17 and 08/09/19. Ok…Honcho…the theme of today’s puzzle…

So…you know the old phrase…Where there’s a will…there’s…Relatives! And that’s what we have here today. Finding ourselves in a lawyers office, at the reading of a will. In attendance, are the Honcho, Jack’s widow, and what I’m pretty sure are his three children. If I had to guess…left to right…The eldest, first-born son, the daughter, and standing by his Mother, the youngest of the group. And while the lawyer looks as blasé as they come, the four HEIRS…APPARENTly are wearing looks of total incredulousness…Why? They’ve all been trumped by a list of charities, and Rex. Rex! DOGgone it…Jack left his money to the Dog! And it’s obvious by our dialogue that it’s a real BONE of contention! Rich is tweeting that he was never liked, Goldie’s questioning his mental acquity, Jewel’s playing the spouse card, and Cash…well Cash isn’t speaking at all. But the way he’s glancing over at his Mother, speaks volumes…This quartet is definitely putting their two cents in, and voicing their displeasure...They’re quick to “HEIR” THEIR GRIEVANCES! Like the dirty laundry! And now that we’ve cleared the HEIR with our solve…let’s back up a little…Do you see the grin on Rex? Hot Diggity DOG…How rich is that? Let’s heir it for that happy pooch!

Ok…Eye candy? There’s a wealth of it today! Let’s start by saying that the Lawyer, looking richly debonair, might be a caricature of someone “real”. He seems to have a rather distinctive look, but it’s just not adding up for me. In case anyone out there thinks they recognize the face? Please feel free to heir your opinion...Ok, moving on…We see Rich, sporting a stud earring, holding his cell phone as he tweets his displeasure. Goldie, dressed to the nines...(I guess since she was expecting to heir some numbers)? is wearing a black cocktail dress, with a blue flared neckline. Jewel, adorned with three earrings, and a diamond bracelet, is reaching up to grasp her pearls, (which I suspect is a classic move of hers), and Cash, the quiet unassuming one? He’s seen with his hand resting reassuringly, protectively, on his Mom’s shoulder. And from what we see and heir of Cash…I personally think he should have been given a piece of that pie. He seems so sweet...That brings us to the large portrait of our Head Honcho, Jack, displayed in an ornate, very expensive-looking gold frame. Depicted in a regal stance, one hand holding his lapel, the other lying affectionately on Rex’s head…he bears somewhat of a sinister grin, and half-shaded eyes. Ditto Rex! I guess the old guy was planning this all along…But the real money shot with today’s puzzle? If you look real closely, and invert the panel, you can actually read the first lines of the will…It says…”Last Will and Testament..(or Testimony, but I think that’s just smeared ink)…I, Jack Jones, hereby state, being of sound mind and body...” And I can’t make out the rest…but the signature, Jack Jones is visible at the bottom. Now how cool is that? What WILL Jeff think of next? So, There you have it, Folks, Done! Have a great day, Everyone…And I’ll leave you with a little Estate Planning Humor…💸🙋🏻‍♀️

“ROB was a single guy living at home with his father and working in the family business. When he found out he was going to inherit a fortune when his sickly father died, he realized that he’d like to have a wife to share his good fortune with. One night, at an investment club meeting, he spotted the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her beauty just took his breath away. He approached her and said, “I may look like an ordinary man, but in just a few years, my father will die, and I’ll inherit 20 million dollars.”….Impressed, the woman smiled and asked for his business card…Three days later?…Rob had a stepmother”…Drop the mic!  Women are just so much better at this than men! …🎤🙋🏻‍♀️

*** FYI: Just a note…A reader wrote in the other night stating that the new polling boxes, appearing in pastel colors, are a little hard to read, especially to those with vision limitations. Word Press made some format changes, and as a result, the colors were altered. The lighter colors you’ve seen the past few days are now the only ones available for the polling. We apologize to anyone experiencing difficulties reading them. ***