LAPTN = PLANT

BIHTA = HABIT

LWWIOL = WILLOW

FAYTIR = RATIFY

CARTOON ANSWER:

THE MARATHON’S FINISH WASN’T EVEN CLOSE, THE WINNER – – –

ANTHAIWIWRATY = RAN AWAY WITH IT

Good Wednesday morning, Jumble friends! We’re at the halfway point of the week where we typically see an increase in the difficulty of the clue words and surprise answer. Today’s game gave us four repeat clue words with only one that caused me to pause. Even though I guessed that it ended in Y, RATIFY still wasn’t visible until after a couple of self Jumbles in the margin of my newspaper making it my choice for the most difficult anagram of the day.

The setting for Jumble artist Jeff Knurek’s cartoon is easily recognizable as the finish line of a race. The main character is wearing bib number 1 and he looks like he hasn’t even broken a sweat! With only a few steps to go before he breaks the finish line tape, his nearest competitor is shown far in the distance where he’s just coming up to the bend before the final stretch.

Reading the dialogue and sentence informs us that this is a marathon race. A marathon is a long-distance race that is 26.219 miles and is an event instituted in commemoration of the fabled run of the Greek soldier Pheidippides. He was said to have run this approximate length from the Battle of Marathon to Athens where he reported victory over the Persians. His story ends abruptly as he reportedly collapsed and died shortly after arriving. Let’s hope the athlete we see in today’s cartoon has a different fate!

The letter layout of the final solution was 13-letters in length. Although it was masterfully crafted to keep its’ solution well hidden, the sentence and cartoon allowed the answer to flow naturally making for an instant solve. Have a wonderful Wednesday, and I’ll see you tomorrow!