All hints are in the comments!

Monday, March 7, 2022

7 Mar, 2022

||
Smiley face|| _swept, gloat, shrank, neatly, easy to grasp.
Image(s) from the Internet.

The opening poem contains all the words (or variations of them) from today's Jumble.
Comments are welcomed! And couching them in Poetry is definitely NOT required.
Do not explicitly reveal any of the actual answer words until after closing time, but embedding them surreptitiously in comment sentences is encouraged.

14 comments:

OwenKL said...

As the pandemic swept over the globe,
People were scared by a little microbe.
Each variant evolved was more contagious,
But less lethal, a trait advantageous!

The death counts shrank, then grew again.
Preventions were easy to grasp, but a pain.
A mask, neatly covering nose, mouth and chin,
Obstructing the germies from coming in!

As infections grew, they seemed universal.
Reinfections meant the first was rehearsal.
But each iteration became more benign.
The last victims gloated, variation twenty-nine
Gave immunity from all viruses, for all time!

OwenKL said...

I don't think they're trying for a really good pun, but this one just falls so flat!

Sandyanon said...

And I don't think that's what would make it simple, either. If it was!

Ol' Man Keith said...

Today’s solution played right into my poetic heart, as you may see.
My sestet is about learning the ropes, probably influenced by Downtown Abbey by way of The Gilded Age.

Sometimes the rules of the game are not so…

Easy to Grasp

The butler gloated, “Enough!” as the footman swept.
The lad moved filth neatly but he lacked a dustpan,
so sent his grime hither, then yon, while he stepped
a spry pattern. “Enough!—He’ll be but our doorman!”

The young man failed, yet had the butler to thank,
for a job is a job, though from complexity he shrank.
~ OMK

Sandyanon said...

Sometimes typos are fun, OMK. Now you have me wondering what part of, say, York, would be Downtown!

Wilbur Charles said...

Sandy, at the CC they had a word for mispronounciations and misspellings of words. I've never watched the Show but learned that there's no W

Americans are fascinated by the English societal rituals though the Boston Brahmins had their own as see in "The Bostonians" by Adams*

WC

* I can never get the Adam's Brothers straight. Was it Henry?

Misty said...

"Sailing"

Susan was swept off her feet
by a fellow who was easy and neat.
He gave her a ride on his boat
and was careful never to gloat
but his spirits certainly shrank
when his sweet ship finally sank.

His sorrow Susan did grasp
so she made it her loving task
to send him a gentle note
with a check so he could buy a new boat.
In return for this caring boon,
the lad took her on a honeymoon.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Sandy ~ What’s the name for the chap who’s always correcting others, then gets it wrong? We need to come up with a robo-variant for Apple’s auto-correct function.
But it’s my own fault. That program is constantly changing my input to what it “thinks” is better, but I shouldn’t have hit “Publish” before catching the catcher.
~ OMK

Misty said...

Owen, what a large scope you have to your pandemic poem this morning: beginning with its alarming rise and going up and down until things get better. And there they were, all the Jumble words and the solution! Many thanks.

Ol' Man Keith, nice to see the solution in your title! Wish I had a better sense of the situation that involves a butler, a footman, a doorman, and a lad--but am glad they all seem to work together. And you too work in all the Jumble words. Bravo!

Ol' Man Keith said...

A well wrought poem, Misty, covering all the bases.

Susan seems to be quite well off. Unless the fellow's boat was a used dinghy, the cost of replacing it must have been a pretty penny.
Even so, if he carried maritime insurance, she should be sure to get her money back on that honeymoon!

In my verse today, I wanted to include the word "prospective" in front of "footman," but there was no room. The idea is that the foolish lad was trying out for the job of footman, but failed (for an obvious reason). The butler was kind enough to keep him on--in a less complicated job.

*
Owen ~ A fine pandemic analysis, thank you!
Your prediction is a bit scary, though. If my count is correct, we will need to survive about twenty more surges before achieving that elusive grail of herd immunity.

As medical science continues along its glorious path, knocking out one disease after another, is there hope of some day eliminating ALL deadly ailments?
Why does an image of King Canute come popping into mind?
~ OMK

Wilbur Charles said...

Spoiler alert. I've combined the J's from Monday with Tuesday in the following verse. Hopefully reading this now won't give away Tuesday. Else, exit out now and come back to it after solving Tuesday.

Begging your forbearance

WC

Wilbur Charles said...

[Chet goes on explaining the Program to Eddie]
Don't get swept away thinking 'What an order it's not easy to grasp'
It's actually pretty straight forward just stay with it, don't lapse.
You'll go batty unless you narrow things down to a few basic
Principles. To sum it up neatly just savor the moment and this trick:

Start with Humility. Don't gloat about past success nor shrink
From the challenge. Stay fluid, remember our motto: Think,
Think, Think. Honesty is another H-word as you'll see.
And finally, perhaps the most important : Live in Harmony

WC

Misty said...

You did it Wilbur--or maybe Chet did it--but either way you got all four Jumble words and the solution into Chet's thoughtful lecture to Eddie. Many thanks.

Ol' Man Keith said...

… and, I will add, the four additional J-words for Tuesday, a total of eight, plus the two solutions.

Well done, old man! I like very much the emphasis on humility and harmony. I suppose it’s because the first virtue to be abandoned by many “true believers” is humility. That’s what makes it so attractive in those who manage to hang onto it.
~ OMK