ALFLI = FLAIL

VECTO = COVET

KIHNSR = SHRUNK

ROMLEA = MORALE

CARTOON ANSWER:

THE COMPANY MANUFACTURED CLOWN SHOES, WHICH WAS – – –

FALOETSNMLE = NO SMALL “FEET”

Happy Monday, everyone!  Mr. Hoyt decided to change things up this morning by giving us a puzzle that had the feel of a mid to late week challenge.  All of our clue words were recycled favorites, but the anagrams were new.  SHRUNK was the only one that immediately jumped out at me leaving three impressive anagrams to work through.  MORALE ended up taking the longest to decipher making it my choice for the most difficult anagram of the day.

At first glance, the setting for today’s panel appeared to be the backstage area of a circus.  It wasn’t until after reading the cartoon sentence that we learn what we’re actually seeing is the inner workings of a clown shoe manufacturer.

Their “office” is in the shape of a round tent as indicated by the subtle creases in the tent material in the rear of the drawing.  We see one clown diligently replacing the sole of an oversized shoe while a customer tries on his freshly mended pair.  He exclaims that they fit perfectly and gives a thumbs up gesture to indicate his delight.

Although the silliness of the clown costumes was more than enough detail to make the cartoon visually appealing, Jeff added a few more to really make it pop.  If you look closely at the clown that is mending the shoe, you can see that he’s working with a pair of needle-nose pliers.  In the pliers is a curved needle that he’s using to sew the upper part of the shoe to the sole.  My favorite detail of the piece was the clown in the back that is leisurely strolling along.  In his hands are four oversized boxes which most likely contain freshly made pairs.

The letter layout for the final solution contained 11-letters.  Noticing that the anagram started with an F brought FEET immediately to mind.  The two L’s led me to find SMALL leaving NO for the finish.  The combination of challenging clue words and a zany cartoon made this puzzle a wonderful way to start the week.  Have a marvelous Monday, and I’ll see you tomorrow!  🤡