| || twice, kneed, theory, number, knew "bettor".
Image from the Internet.
The opening poem contains all the words (or variations of them) from today's Jumble.
Comments are welcomed!
Do not explicitly reveal any of the actual answer words until after closing time, but embedding them surreptitiously in comment sentences is encouraged.
13 comments:
The second clue gave me fits; I kept wanting the thing you do to bread dough, but the middle letter wasn't there! However, with the rest of the letters, the solution was clear. It's cute, though somehow the alternate meaning would sound more natural with a "the" included.
FLN: Hey, Wilbur, "Jerry" and "Cherry" are near homophones. Granted, the initial sound of the first is voiced, and the second unvoiced, but they're close enough for a joke, don't you think?
I wondered like Sandy why the Jumblers didn't insert a "the" in parentheses for this solution.
FLN Wilbur~ I'm not sure I remember the exact nature of your pun question. It depends of course on the definition of "pun," which turns out to be not as fixed as one might suppose.
If you need it to be an exact homophone, or even the same word having multiple meanings, then "Cherry" & "Jerry" can't qualify. You'd have to stick to such obvious gags as "The Importance of Being Earnest."
But I think such an overly precise definition takes much of the creative fun out of punning. Your examples come very, very close to sounding alike--as Sandy has pointed out. "Cherry" begins with two unvoiced phonemes--the dental "t" and the "sh"--and "Jerry" starts with their exact voiced counterparts--the dental "d" and "zh."
These can sound almost perfectly alike, especially if the speaker begins voicing the ensuing vowel early.
So, if you go with MY definition of a pun, requiring either a homophone or words that the speaker can make you think of multiple meanings, then you've got a fine pun.
(Or did you want it to be disqualified?)
~ OMK
"New Fretter"
-or-
"Fair Play"
He waited till the ref was too distracted to watch,
then kneed his opponent twice in the crotch.
In theory this oughtta drop the guy in a fix,
or he would've added a number of kicks.
But he hadn't reckoned on his own pain--Yikes!--
The guy wore a cup with sharp steel spikes.
~ OMK
Once bitten, twice shy or so the theory goes
But the hapless gambler says, "Just give me one more throw"
Likewise with college baskets ol' Wilbur had a plan
Bet on UCLA this time, though he's not a Bruin fan
He'd always bet against them whether Walton or big Lou*
But this day there was neither, so the number was only two
But the bookies held the cards, the favorite's line was four
Though in his heart he knew better Wilbur took the plunge once more
The game was close and as the clock ticked down
Ucla was up by two and Wilbur wore a frown
Henry Bibby drove for the hoop just as time ran out
For Wilbur it was a knee to the groin, as bad as an attack of gout
Fans stormed the court , a frenzied melee took place
Devastation and despair was the look on Wilbur's face
But lo what's that? The refs had called an infraction
From the shower they dragged young Bibby midst all the commotion
Two free throws he was given and Wilbur needed both
Why should Bibby care the Bruins had already won
He should be with teammates, joining in the fun.
But Henry sank'em both. With Wilbur he'd kept troth
Oh in some bars they drink Heineken but Wilbur's having Busch
He hadn't won the bet nor had he lost,
But was grateful for the push
*Lou Alcindor(later Kareem Abdul Jabber) and Bill Walton were two 7' centers that dominated college basketball from 1968-1974. This particular year UCLA had neither and was vulnerable.
Re. Cherry Garcia (is one)... My nit was the constructor's answer was PUN. A play on words is not necessarily a pun. Foul I say. Two shots for Wilbur. That was the xword that I had three WAGs and then miserably FIW'ed by entering GUM.
Oh, well I FIR'ed on Friday and I think today too.
WC
Blaise Pascal was a mathematician, bold.
Number theory was his special fold.
Pascal's Triangle showed to the bettor
The odds that a dice roll will do a favor.
Pascal's Wager was philosophical,
Was a belief in God at all logical?
For some the possibility was too much,
Like being kneed in the ontological gut.
Those who knew in the depth of their soul,
Considered his "wager" their eternal goal!
While skeptics hardly looked at it twice;
They'd rather depend on destiny's dice!
The "straight" meaning would be "they knew the bet-maker", but the wordplay is on the phrase "they knew better", which wouldn't make sense with an article imposed.
The one card in his hand that we can see looks like a 2 of clubs, and there ain't no good hand that would include that!
"Gambling"
George liked to play dice
but he never won twice.
He had almost no greed
but hated getting kneed.
It's not much of a theory
to imagine him weary,
when he got the wrong number,
he just wanted to slumber.
But he'd never sue a debtor
for he knew he was better.
Wow!
What a fine display of riches today! A real jackpot!
Thank you, Wilbur, for a truly tense mini-drama. I held my breath through the outcome. I appreciate your compliment to me 2 days ago, but you deserve to take it yourself today. Bravo!
As for the PUN question, I understand it better now. Let me point back at my first sentence (above) about the shifting nature of the definition. It all comes back to that, doesn't it? None of the linguistic referees has universal acceptance, so you are as free to disagree with the constructor as he (or she) may be with you.
I'll just point out that a "play on words" is a broader category than a pun. It would include puns along with whatever else you call "Cherry Garcia." I suggest you give a name to it yourself, so you have your own way of classifying it separately.
Owen ~ You dazzle us again, sir! As an old philosophy student, I love to see references to subjects that many consider arcane today. Pascal's wager is not a typical subject for comedy, but you have great skill in bringing highfalutin themes to heel.
I think the last line of your second stanza is a perfect example.
And I like that you carry your zingers in your final lines. Way to go!
BTW, I agree with your analysis of today's solution--and why an added "the" would be an intrusion.
It just goes to show why this isn't a successful wordplay--and none of our reasoning is (so far) able to fix it.
As for my own effort today, I claim only the prize for economy.
Not usually a small achievement, but today's words made it an easy-A.
Misty ~
Your George isn't smart.
He may say with Descartes,
"I roll, ergo I am,"
'cuz he doesn't give a damn
whether he loses or wins.
It's all in the spins
of the dice
(whether marble, plastic, or gneiss),
it's merely the action
that gives him traction.
When he's all out of money,
his wife will say, "Honey,
it's time you moved out.
Some rules you can't flout;
when I said 'richer or poorer,'
I didn't mean a Schnorrer!"
~ OMK
Sandyanon, I actually had the same problem with the second word and couldn't believe that "kneed" is actually a word. "Knead," yes, like in kneading bread, but I would have thought "knelt" was the past tense of having been down on a knee or two.
Ol'Man Keith, George's wife runs a gambling casino in Vegas, so her husband is just one of many good customers.
Misty ~"Knelt" and "Kneed" are not both the past of "To kneel."
I believe the latter is the past of "To knee," as I used it above in the second line of my poem.
"To knee" is to apply the joint--usually forcefully--to someone or something.
Not unlike "To elbow," when said of that other, higher, joint.
Speaking of joints, I assume George's wife's establishment is also of a higher class. Yes?
Owen ~ Revisiting the Better/Bettor gag, a solution to the solution--a less clumsy version--can be had for the price of re-drawing the pic & re-wording the lead-in caption. (And maybe two different clue words.)
It would require the cartoon to show the game clearly arriving at the final pair of players--a tense showdown.
The guys would all be staring at the caller, and the caption would explain how "they all knew the..." Answer: "...bettor of the two."
~ OMK
OMK. 👍👍
OMK, hope you have a chance to check out George's wife's Vegas casino sometime. Let me know if it's high class, and play a game or two with easy George.
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