GHIST = SIGHT

ZAMEA = AMAZE

SENLOS = LESSON

CUTEKB = BUCKET

CARTOON ANSWER:

AS THE CRUISE SHIP ROCKED, THE STRUGGLING CREW AND PASSENGERS WERE – – –

IHTAMAESONBET = IN THE SAME BOAT

Good Monday morning my friends! I hope you’re well rested after the first weekend of the new year. Monday puzzles are usually a piece of cake, and I woke up refreshed and ready to dive right into this one.

LESSON was the only clue word to give me some trouble today. I found ON and LESS immediately and tried my darndest to make a word starting with ON. Of course nothing worked, so rather than abandon ship and back into the answer, I stayed the course and gave LESS a shot. A simple coupling of the two words I originally found so quickly brought the answer into view and I was ready for the first cartoon of the new week.

Looking at Jeff’s illustration, we see a dining room filled with well dressed passengers, but the dinner doesn’t seem to be going exactly as planned. By reading the dialogue, we learn that this is a Captain’s Dinner aboard the cruise ship Poseidon, and rough seas are making for a rather difficult dinner service. The captain is the only person who isn’t troubled by the mayhem going on around him and he can be seen calmly holding his glass of wine with his pinky finger extended while reassuring his guests that his crew will handle the situation.

The letter layout for the surprise answer was cryptic and very well jumbled for a Monday. I had a feeling that BOAT would be part of the solution. By crossing out those letters, I was able to see SAME, THE and IN for a quick finish.

I wish everyone a wonderful Monday, and I’ll see you tomorrow!