Author Archives: JumbleAnswer

Jumble Answers for 01/30/2019

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OGYOE = GOOEY

SAHHR = HARSH

WTREET = WETTER

ANNPIK = NAPKIN

 

CARTOON ANSWER:

THE GUITARIST CAME UP WITH A NEW MELODY, BUT DIDN’T THINK IT WAS – – –

GOOHRWTTNIN = WORTH NOTING

Happy Wednesday, Jumble geniuses! All of today’s anagrams were new but their solutions were old favorites. NAPKIN took just a moment longer to decipher than WETTER so it’s my pick for the most difficult anagram of the day. GOOEY was the oldest word in the group with its last appearance on 10/24/17 while HARSH was our most recent repeat back on 7/31/18.

If you’ve ever wondered what Jumble artist Jeff Knurek looks like, well today’s your day to meet him! We see Jeff strumming on his guitar while he’s using a hassock as a seat. His wife, Kathy, can be seen sitting in a comfy chair in the next room over while diligently working on her laptop.

The dialogue in today’s cartoon revolves around music and Kathy is asking her husband if he’s writing a new song. Jeff replies that he’s playing around with some new chords and we see he has a pencil behind his ear in case he hears something he likes. At his feet are his dogs, Fifi and Gizmo. Fifi is a Pappillon and is on the left side of the music stand and Gizmo is a chi-weenie and is laying on the right. Gizmo has something in his mouth which looks like either a leash or a toy.

There was so much detail in today’s panel that I’ll just go ahead and list what I saw. Kathy is wearing an Indiana School of Nursing sweater while working on her laptop. The laptop has a pineapple logo on the back which is common in tv, print, and movies so as not to infringe on Apple copyrights. Jeff, of course, is wearing a Wilco t-shirt and it looks like his residence is a no shoes zone as he depicts himself wearing socks. My favorite detail of the piece wasn’t visible to the unaided eye. If you look closely at the headstock of his guitar, you might see some writing. Zooming in on it, it says “Martin” which is a popular guitar brand for musicians.

The final solve was an anagram consisting of 11-letters which is the same amount as yesterday’s. The layout kept the solution very well hidden and gave nothing away. The cartoon sentence gave us “guitarist” and “melody” as potential clues which weren’t much help in guessing the answer. I started the solve by eliminating -ING which left me 8-letters to work with. WORTH was clumped all together and jumped out at me first leaving NOT to be found for the finish. Have a wonderful Wednesday, and I’ll see you right back here tomorrow!

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Jumble Answers for 01/29/2019

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GAWRE = WAGER

CINWE = WINCE

VTANIE = NATIVE

PLLETE = PELLET

 

CARTOON ANSWER:

THE STAGE PERFORMERS OFTEN HAD PROBLEMS – – –

AGRINCNTIET = INTERACTING

 

Happy Tuesday, Jumble players! Today’s puzzle featured four clue words that have been used before, but all of the anagrams were new. The only one that wasn’t immediately visible to me was NATIVE so it’s my pick for the most challenging anagram of the day. It was also the oldest clue word of the quartet and was last in gameplay on 11/20/16 where it was scrambled as VATENI. PELLET was the most recent repeat, followed by WINCE and then WAGER.

Our cartoon brings us to a stage where we encounter three Jumble characters. The scene was a familiar one and was instantly recognizable as being from William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. What first caught my eye was the amount of dialogue presented to us which totaled 33 words! Rarely do we get that much information in a panel so I figured that it would play a key part in the final solve.

Romeo can be seen with his back to the balcony as he recites his formulaic sonnet. I can almost hear him saying each word slowly in a flat and monotone voice which ultimately catches the ire of the director. He can be seen yelling at Romeo through his paper megaphone while his dialogue tips us off that the two actors have recently broken up.

Jeff did an outstanding job of framing his cartoon by giving us three different levels of perspective. First we see Juliet high above the stage on a balcony, followed by Romeo at eye-level, and then finally the director on the floor. The characters were proportional to their respective positions within the frame which added to the visual impact. As far as extra detail, there wasn’t a whole lot that jumped out at me. The two actors are dressed in period costumes while the director can be seen wearing a beret and single knotted scarf. The window next to the balcony was my favorite detail for today with its vines adding some extra flair.

The final solve was an anagram consisting of 11-letters and would solve into one word. I thought that the anagram itself was extremely cryptic and gave nothing away. The cartoon sentence said “stage performers” which led me to find ACTING first. INTER was found in the remaining letters for the finish. Today’s game was definitely more challenging than yesterday’s gimme and I hope you found it as entertaining as I did. Have a terrific Tuesday, and I’ll see you right back here tomorrow!

Jumble Answers for 01/28/2019

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RAYHI = HAIRY

HTALC = LATCH

WLATLE = WALLET

CEFOFE = COFFEE

 

CARTOON ANSWER:

THE SPARE DIDN’T ALWAYS FIT IN WITH THE OTHER FOUR TIRES AND OFTEN FELT LIKE A – – –

HILHWETFFE = FIFTH WHEEL

 

Happy Monday, Jumble players! Today’s puzzle was barely a challenge, but it did offer up a brand new clue word in COFFEE. I could have sworn that we’ve seen it before but maybe it’s just one of those words that’s common enough to look like it’s been used in the past. WLATLE was the only anagram that wasn’t immediately visible which made it my pick for the most difficult anagram of the day. If you’re a regular player of the game you probably remember that we saw it just over two weeks ago where it was scrambled as WELTLA on 1/13/19. Our oldest word ended up being LATCH and was last in gameplay on 4/25/18 where it was jumbled as CALTH.

The setting for today’s cartoon is a beautiful outdoor scene featuring a Jeep parked somewhere on an off-road trail. The driver is nowhere to be found so we can only assume that he or she is off exploring the great outdoors on this sunshine filled day. In his or her absence, we see a conversation occurring between the tires on the vehicle with one of them feeling left out.

The Jeep that we see in the panel took up the majority of the space in the frame leaving little room for extra details. Jeff managed to squeeze in a couple of hills in the background that are lined with 12 trees. There are also tufts of grass or bits of bushes visible along with two clouds in the sky. Turning my attention to the vehicle, there was something written in the center of the steering wheel that caught my eye. It appears to read “900” which made me think that it’s the model series of the Jeep. Upon closer inspection, it looks like it might also read “Jeff” in cursive but I’m not really sure.

The final solution was an anagram consisting of 10-letters. The layout was cryptic, but the conversation between the tires made this one an instant solve. Have a magnificent Monday and I’ll see you right back here tomorrow for more Jumble fun!

 

Jumble Answers for 01/24/2019

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ONWSO = SWOON

VODTI = DIVOT

HRYITT = THIRTY

SAUCCE = ACCUSE

 

CARTOON ANSWER:

WHEN THE STAND-UP COMEDIAN RAN OUT OF NEW IDEAS, HE WAS – – –

SWNDITTHIASE = AT HIS WIT’S END

 

Happy Thursday, Jumble friends! Today’s puzzle was very similar to yesterday’s game in that all of the anagrams were new while their solutions were recycled favorites. In my opinion, the anagrams featured today were much easier to solve with SAUCCE being the only one that took a few extra seconds to figure out. David did a great job of throwing us off course by leaving the two C’s coupled together in the layout which I immediately broke up. When nothing came to mind, I reverted back to the original anagram and happened to see the error in my ways after staring at it for a bit. Our oldest clue word of the day was THIRTY where it was scrambled as TTIYRH the last time we saw it on 2/13/17. SWOON was our most recent with an appearance on 6/8/18.

Today’s cartoon brings us to a comedy club where we see a comedian practicing his material. We’ve seen several cartoons in the recent past featuring a comedy club setting, but this one is identified as “Giggles” by the bubble-lettered sign in the background. The characters were drawn with impeccable detail which means that they’re not our ordinary Jumble folk. On the stage is a comedian that wasn’t familiar to me but seated next to him is a woman that looks like Lissa Sears.

Our comedian looks to be having some real trouble with his set, but his friend is right there offering up advice on how to improve. She suggests using props or impersonations to wow the crowd but our beleaguered funny man feels that he’s done it all before. Jeff perfectly captured the emotion that this guy is feeling by having him steady himself on the microphone stand with his left hand while his right one holds the mic down at his side.

There weren’t a lot of extra details in today’s piece with the cartoon relying heavily upon its caricatures to impress. The tiny sign on the table was very difficult to see but it says “two drink minimum” with a smiley face underneath. The brickwork behind the stage gives the club a “cellar” type of vibe which was also a very nice touch.

The final solution was a 12-letter anagram that solved into four words. The layout gave us many possible word choices with THE, HIS, and AND being at the top of my list. HIS seemed like the best place to start so I crossed out the letters. The flow of the cartoon sentence brought AT to mind leaving WIT’S END to found shortly thereafter. The final solution was a very stinky pun that definitely impressed, so well done David and Jeff! Have a terrific Thursday, and I’ll see you right back here tomorrow! 🎤

Jumble Answers for 01/23/2019

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WOYSN = SNOWY

CEOGK = GECKO

SARPIN = SPRAIN

SHRUOC = CHORUS

 

CARTOON ANSWER:

WHEN THE LIONS FIGURED OUT HOW TO BUILD A FIRE, IT WAS A – – –

SNOGECSRAICRUS = ROARING SUCCESS

 

Happy Wednesday, Jumble geniuses! Gameplay began with four brand new anagrams that solved into past favorites. Although GECKO took a couple of extra seconds to come into view, my pick for the most challenging word today was CHORUS. I thought the anagram was well thought out and the separation between the C and H was just enough to keep it cryptic. SNOWY ended up being the only word that came into view instantly upon first glance making the overall lineup a delightful challenge for a midweek offering.

The setting for today’s cartoon brings us to a large, open area of land where we encounter four lions. Although India has the largest population of lions in the world, I believe that the location for today’s piece is somewhere in Africa. The cartoon sentence informs us that the lions have figured out a way to start a fire while their dialogue expounds upon their achievement. The quip between the largest lion and the lioness lets us know that the fire was anything but a group effort and they all seem to take pride in the discovery.

The fine details in today’s piece included a tree in the background with a couple of small hills and some clouds. The mane attraction was the single log burning with a few tufts of grass around it. Looking closely at the image, you can see a bit of fire on the lioness’s tail which she hasn’t noticed yet! Off to the right side of the panel is a couple of legs of the main course with the gruesome details just out of our view.

The final solve was an anagram consisting of 14-letters. The layout was brilliant and kept the two-word solution extremely well hidden. At the end of the anagram I saw ICRUS which brought CIRCUS to mind. The remaining letters produced gibberish so I headed back to the cartoon for more clues. I noticed the male lion was saying “Arrrrrr!” which brought ROAR to mind. ING was there for ROARING leaving SUCCESS to be deciphered with little effort. Have a wonderful Wednesday, and I’ll see you right back here tomorrow! 🦁

 

Jumble Answers for 01/17/2019

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KNIDE = INKED

TPEGU = GETUP

ARTNUT = TRUANT

LCIHNF = FLINCH

 

CARTOON ANSWER:

IT WAS TIME TO GET A NEW LAWN MOWER BECAUSE THE ONE THEY HAD WASN’T – – –

INGTTUTIC = CUTTING IT

Happy Thursday, Jumble players! The hardest part about today’s puzzle were the clue words with Mr. Hoyt offering up a couple that were no pushovers. GETUP is a brand new word making its debut into gameplay and it took the longest time for me to decipher. It didn’t look right after I figured it out but I stuck with it to see just how far it would get me. ARTNUT was also a brilliant jumble with the anagram being compsed of two words that completely derailed my train of thought. Mixing up the letters in the margin of my paper was all it took to bring it into view allowing me to fly through FLINCH and arrive at the cartoon.

Today’s panel wasn’t a continuation of the storyline that had been playing out since Monday with Jeff deciding to change it up by offering us a couple of new Jumble characters in a precarious situation. The men that we see in the cartoon appear to be a father and son duo that have decided to take advantage of the nice weather by mowing their overgrown lawn. Junior made only one pass with the machine before it stopped working and we see dad coming to his rescue. With the machine on its side we see dad crouched on one knee and he’s pointing to the lawnmower blade. The blade needs to be completely replaced because there’s no way to sharpen such a jagged edge. I guess you could say that they fought the lawn, but the lawn won!

The final solve was an anagram consisting of 9-letters. ING was conveniently placed together at the front on the layout allowing me to see CUTTING. IT was all that remained for the finish making the solution a no-brainer! Have a terrific Thursday, everyone, and go out there and kick some grass!!! 😎

Jumble Answers for 01/16/2019

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CIBHR = BIRCH

GRIET = TIGER

SDWHER = SHREWD

ONWWID = WINDOW

 

CARTOON ANSWER:

THEIR NEW TALKING SCALE HAD A – – –

IRHTGESHWDWIOW = “WEIGH” WITH WORDS

 

Happy Wednesday, everyone! Did you immediately notice a theme playing out with today’s cartoon? This is the first time that I can remember where Jeff has used bits and pieces from his panels earlier in the week to keep the story going. Often times I’ve commented that I’d like to see this sort of storytelling happen because it gives us a deeper look into the lives of our beloved Jumble characters. I know the Jumble cartoons aren’t a comic strip but it’s fun to see which elements Jeff chooses to expand his story and it gives the game a breath of fresh air!

Our puzzle began with clue words that were recycled favorites from the past. I’ll take a guess and pick SHREWD as the most difficult anagram of the day as they all came to me instantly upon first glance. Our oldest word of the day was BIRCH and it was scrambled as CRIBH the last time we saw it on 1/31/17.

The setting for today’s cartoon is a bathroom where we see two Jumble characters staring at a scale. The woman on the left, identified as Anne by the dialogue, is the person that we saw purchasing a talking scale yesterday at a department store. She politely asks the scale how it’s doing this morning and its response was rather verbose. It tells her that she’s feeling much lighter than yesterday and it asks if she’s been working out. Anne’s significant other has an upset look on his face and we learn from his dialogue that it told him he was getting fatter. That scale surely doesn’t mince words but it might mince a few pounds if you talk to it nicely like Anne did!

After reading the dialogue a couple of times it occurred to me that today’s cartoon was a bit out of continuity if we are to assume that this is the very next day. We saw Anne purchasing the scale yesterday so unless she didn’t eat anything and worked out all night, there’s no way that she’d have been “much lighter” as the scale suggests.

The final solve was an anagram consisting of 14-letters and the layout was absolutely stunning. It gave nothing away and if the quotes weren’t given to us, I’d have had a much more difficult time solving it. Looking at the letters I noticed that both TIGER and SHREWD could be found. I knew they wouldn’t be in the final solve but it’s always fun to play with the letters to see what words you can make. With playtime over, I got down to business and chose WEIGH as the word in quotes. With those letters crossed out I found WITH next and WORDS for the finish.

Do you think Jeff will continue this storyline within his cartoon tomorrow? I sure hope so but I have no idea how he’d do it! Have a wonderful Wednesday!!!

Jumble Answers for 01/15/2019

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SUDEO = DOUSE

RYDEB = DERBY

NASTOA = SONATA

TNNTIE = INTENT

 

CARTOON ANSWER:

THE PEOPLE WAITING TO PAY FOR THEIR PURCHASES WERE – – –

DUSRBYSAENT = “BUY – STANDERS”

 

Happy Tuesday, Jumble fans! This mornings puzzle featured clue words that were all recycled favorites. Even though we’ve seen them before, there were a couple of them that ended up being rather tricky. SONATA took the longest time to decipher making it my pick for for the most difficult anagram of the day. INTENT was a close second but we talked about this word in the forums a couple of days ago so it was still fresh in my mind. The oldest word of the day was DERBY and it was scrambled as YREDB the last time we saw it on 12/4/17.

When first looking at today’s cartoon, it was immediately apparent that what we’re seeing is a continuation of yesterday’s panel. This had me very excited because Jeff doesn’t do this very often. In the background is the same exact food court that we’ve previously seen, but the main action is now occurring at the point of sale in a department store.

The sign at the register reads “50% Off” so it’s no wonder that we see so many Jumble characters waiting in line to take advantage of the sale. There’s one associate tending to a customer at the register with 5 more people waiting behind her. Each character is holding a different item that they’re interested in purchasing so I’ll describe each one (as best I can) starting at the front of the line. The first woman looks like she’s about to buy a picture frame and she has her credit card out to finalize the transaction. Behind her is a woman holding a large box that appears to be a crockpot. Next is a woman holding some clothing with a man behind her that’s picked out a dress shirt. This leads us to our two main characters with the one on the left holding a box that appears to say “Talking Scale” while the one on the right is holding some dresses or pants.

The last character that we see in the panel doesn’t look like she wants to wait in such a long line and the two women with dialogue believe that she may be shoplifting. You can see that she’s wearing a hat with the price tag still dangling off of it and she appears to have several shirts on under her bulky sweater. I hope she does the right thing and pays for the merchandise because stores pass on their losses by making everyone else pay more!

The final solution consisted of an 11-letter anagram that was extremely cryptic for a Tuesday puzzle. While looking at the layout I happened to see all of the letters for DERBY which was one of our clue words. The BY coupled together brought BUY to mind leaving me to struggle a bit to find STANDERS. This puzzle was on the difficult side after yesterday’s gimme answer, but the challenge was definitely appreciated. Have a terrific Tuesday, and I’ll see you tomorrow!

Jumble Answers for 01/14/2019

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PACRM = CRAMP

TOODU = OUTDO

YORTEH = THEORY

DEFLID = FIDDLE

 

CARTOON ANSWER:

THE LAWYERS MET FOR LUNCH AT THE – – –

CROUOTOFD = FOOD COURT

Happy Monday, Jumble friends! Our weekday Jumble duties began with four clue words that we’ve encountered before. FIDDLE was the easiest of the bunch since it was used less than a week ago on January 8th. My choice for the most difficult anagram of the day was THEORY. The anagram was just cryptic enough to make it require a couple of extra glances before coming into view. Our oldest clue word of the day was CRAMP and it was last seen in gameplay on 3/29/16 where it was scrambled as MPRAC.

Today’s cartoon was the highlight of today’s game with Jumble artist, Jeff Knurek, offering up eleven different characters in his panel. Our focus is drawn to the large square table in the front where see a man and a woman eating some food. The cartoon sentence informs us that they’re a couple of lawyers and that they’ve decided to meet at this particular spot for lunch. It wasn’t surprising that their dialogue was legal jargon with both of them dishing out some complaints about their jobs.

The fine detail work within the piece is what really made this cartoon visually appetizing! There were so many different foods being consumed with each one drawn in intricate detail. Starting with the lawyers that are front and center, we see the gentleman enjoying a burger with three visible bite marks in the sesame seed bun. His left hand holds a drink with the label reading “Jumble Burger”. The woman has decided to have a tossed salad as her entree and she’s holding a drink cup with a picture of some vegetables on it making me think it’s some type of smoothie. Just behind them we see a couple of younger men eating as well. The one on the left is enjoying a slice of pepperoni pizza while his friend enjoys a bowl of noodles. Zooming in on the bowl, I was surprised to see that it had some writing on it which said “Pho To Go”!!! The hardest dish to identify was the one being eaten by the woman sitting alone. It looks like some type of sandwich wrap, or maybe even a burrito.

You may have noticed the artwork on the wall in the rear of this lunch spot that looks like a piece of a puzzle. Zooming in on it I was surprised to discover that it was actually the layout of the building and it it says “YOU ARE HERE”. It ended up being my favorite hidden gem this morning as well as the key for me to instantly solve today’s game.

The letter layout for the final solution was an anagram consisting of 9-letters. The F & D that were coupled together at the rear of the layout brought FOOD instantly to mind with COURT being found within the remaining letters for a quick finish. Even though this puzzle wasn’t overly difficult, the superb detail within the cartoon left my Jumble craving sated for today. Have a marvelous Monday, and I’ll see you right back here tomorrow!

Jumble Answers for 01/10/2019

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AULFW = AWFUL

KIDNR = DRINK

SEWBOT = BESTOW

XEOPES = EXPOSE

 

CARTOON ANSWER:

AFTER TEACHING THE SCOUTS HOW TO BUILD A CAMPFIRE, THE TROOP LEADER – – –

AWDKSTOSE = WAS STOKED

Happy Thursday, Jumble players! For the third time this week we have a brand new clue word making its debut into gameplay. Mr. Hoyt offered up BESTOW in an effort to befuddle our brains and this time it worked! It ended up taking me the longest time to solve which made it my pick for most difficult anagram of the day. The remaining three words were readily visible and took longer to write their solutions in the answer boxes than solve. Our oldest word this morning was AWFUL and it was scrambled as FALWU the last time we saw it on 2/2/16. On a final note, all of the anagrams were presented to us in alphabetical order.

Before I start my analysis of today’s cartoon, I’d like to take a moment to share some sad news with you. The online version of the Jumble game that I use to enlarge and see all of the unique details within the cartoon has decided to change their format. They still print the Jumble but they post today’s cartoon very late in the afternoon which is well after I write my post. Unless anyone knows of another website that offers the cartoon in a larger format, I’ll be forced to comment on what is readily visible and update my post later in the day with all of the tiny details that you can’t see in the newspaper copy. This makes me a very unhappy camper, but today’s panel offered up a group of happy ones that I’ll do my best to tell you about.

The setting for today’s panel brings us to a clearing in the woods where we encounter four Jumble characters. Three of them are young boys and they are all seated around a glowing campfire. The cartoon sentence informs us that they are a pack of scouts and that they’ve just been taught how to build a proper fire. The scout leader is overjoyed at the scouts progress and he can be seen doing a happy dance. He’s also waving his marshmallow stick high above his head while holding up his right index finger to indicate that his troop is #1. I noticed that the troop leaders right foot is awfully close to the campfire and if he isn’t careful he’ll soon be giving the kids a lesson in first aid!

The final solve was an anagram consisting of 9-letters. The layout was cryptic but the leading nature of the sentence brought WAS instantly to mind as the first word. Crossing out those letters allowed me to find STOKED after a few moments of staring at the cartoon. Be sure to stop back later in the day for updates on the tiny details that I couldn’t make out and please vote below for the anagram that stumped you the most. Have a terrific Thursday!!!