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Monday 24 February 2020

Poetry Monday: Puzzles ..... and Funnies

It's Poetry Monday, and this week's topic is ..... PUZZLES.

Join Diane, MotherOwl, Mimi and me as we work our magic, turning puzzles into poetry. You can leave your poem in the comments or post on your own blog; if you do the latter, please leave a comment so we can find you and your poem. Use the topic, or choose another; the idea is to have fun and exercise our brains.

*****

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm not a mathy person.

It's fine if you are a mathy person. More power to those who enjoy numbers and have an aptitude for them.

But that's not me. I'm a word person.

So it would be easy to guess what interests me in the realm of puzzles.

(Once again, I'm illustrating my poem with pictures, with the hope that you will not notice how short my poem is.)



*****

How To Entertain Me


Su-do-ku?

No-can-do




my solution to Sudoku puzzles



Spatial toys?

Real killjoys




This pile of stuck-together blocks will, theoretically, fit together to form a cube. Unfortunately, that remains theoretical when it's in my paws.



But -- wordplay?

I say Yay!






please ignore the fact that one of the obvious words you can make with these tiles is "smut" -- Pixabay beggars can't be choosers




And a pun?

Oh, what fun!



*****


This seems like a good time to break out all the puns and wordplay memes I've been collecting.

And because there are a couple of regular readers here whose first language is not English, I've put some notes under the pictures to explain the jokes. I hope that helps. I think wordplay must be very difficult in a second (or third or fourth) language. It was even difficult to explain some of these, I found. If you're not having fun reading, feel free to ignore them! This is supposed to be enjoyable :)




escapea (escaped pea) = escapee (one who escapes)




boulder (a large rock) = bolder




stock =  soup base; laughing stock = someone who is the subject of a joke; humerus (arm bone) = humorous





Alpacalypse = Apocalypse (and while llamas and alpacas are not the same thing, they look enough alike that it makes the joke work)




90 degrees = a right angle in geometry = a corner




alterNEIGHtor = alterNAtor (car part)




I think this one explains itself . . . I think




helium = heal 'em (heal them); curium = cure 'em; barium = bury 'em




open toad = open-toed (like a sandal)




hay = hey; and that's a roll of hay kitty is sitting on, and, well, it's kind of a dumb joke, isn't it?



"end construction" really means "end OF construction", but "End Construction" is also the kind of thing you would see on a protest sign, too




... puffin (for everybody who's not familiar with this bird) - a play on the phrase "huffing and puffing"




giddyup is what you say to a horse to make him go; also, giddyup = get up




shift is a key but it's also a word for the hours you spend at a job




explains itself, I think




mustache (see kitty's white mustache?) sounds like "must ask"




this time, toad = towed





explains itself, I think (a Roomba is an automatic vacuum cleaner that moves around by itself)






plethora literally means "a lot"




"rain, dear"= reindeer, that guy above with the antlers




. . . and that something is a nose!





"in a nutshell (acorn)" = a short explanation






stuffed = full because they ate so much AND stuffed with stuffing




stables = where horses are kept; this is meant to sound like the phrase "the tables have turned", meaning something now is happening the opposite to the way it used to be




Toucan (the name of this bird) = two can




an oying = annoying




a Yamaha is a brand of motorcycle



For more puns and corny jokes I've posted in the past, see here and here.

And for even more puns, go here.


*****

Hope your week is filled with hahahahas -- or at least a chuckle or two.

Next week's topic will be ..... your choice of gnomes, combs, and/or foam ..... something for everyone! Thanks, Diane.

Good luck :)






59 comments:

Red said...

I like plays on words and puns. the harder they are the better they are. I like something that makes me think about it.

Elephant's Child said...

Words are my first love, but I cannot do crosswords. They make my head hurt, since they so often cheat.
Puns on the other hand I love. Thank you for these wonderful ones. I do like what's an noying.
My favourite is a Dorothy Parker gem.
Champagne for my real friends,
Real pain for my sham friends.

dinthebeast said...

The alpacalypse is hilarious.

Zsuzs' mom taught me a kind of puzzle game after Christmas dinner. I can't remember the name of it, but it seemed kind of like Scrabble using numbers. I texted her to ask what the name is, and if she texts me back before I'm through typing this I'll tell you what it was.

I remember it being fun, but after the Hungarian dinner she served us, my memory for names is foggy, because that dinner was heavenly.

-Doug in Sugar Pine

Bonnie said...

I got a kick out of your poem! I love word puzzles too. All of the funnies are great. I especially loved the Alpacalypse!

baili said...

haha

i so much enjoyed your selection of jokes dear Jenny :) i got most of them but had to get help from your explanation for lamas one :)
i always love your funnies but this time they were more and funnier

i share your feelings about puzzles as they go straight above my head ,honestly did not try harder until now but if i have had tried i would have not be able to do it in ages i think as i have seen video about trick to solve it and it had lots of logarithm and i know nothing about it :(
i like solving puzzles or riddles as sudoku but it takes quite time and energy lol so i try to do it only during vacation when routine squeezes indoor due to hot days
i hope your days are blessed with positive energy and peace my friend!
take good care hugs!

Charlotte (MotherOwl) said...

Hehe That toucan joke reminds me of a very early computer game for kids where one og the puns was "one can - two can" It was called something like Flash the Fly and Flash the Fly in space. It was filled with puns - I liked it very much, and my children too.
And I like your poem too, and mostly agree. To me sudoku is "can do but extermely boring", no maths at all involved, only logics.

River said...

I love all the puns :)
I can't do Sudoku either, not even the easy level ones. I do love word puzzles though and crosswords but not the Cryptic ones. I love the code crackers. The set of blocks to be put together to make a cube is the sort of thing my grandson loved when he was little. very little, about five and six.

Anonymous said...

No, no. No more please. I found the Roomba vacuum cleaner joke very funny and your illustrated poem was good.

Starting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe said...

There is so much joy in puns. I am (was) a mathy, but as the years have gone by, I realized that my number was up.

Marie Smith said...

Lol. Many chuckles in this post, Jenny! Have a great week.

jenny_o said...

They're good for the brain!

jenny_o said...

Yes, I like my crosswords straightforward, too.

I love that Dorothy Parker quote - very satisfying!

jenny_o said...

If you find out the name of the game, let me know? Sounds like your Christmas was excellent.

jenny_o said...

Glad you enjoyed them :)

jenny_o said...

I started out trying Sudoku because I knew I should try something that wasn't easy for me, but I think now that there are other ways for me to grow brain cells that don't raise my blood pressure - ha ha

I'm glad you enjoyed the funnies. Hugs, my friend :)

jenny_o said...

Yes, more logic than math - definitely. They are really a challenge for me.

jenny_o said...

Five and six? He must have a great talent for them! I'm glad to know someone else can't do Sudoku :D

jenny_o said...

Aw, just ONE more, Andrew! lol

I agree though, there's such a thing as too many puns :)

jenny_o said...

HAH! I see what you did there :D Good one!

jenny_o said...

You too, Marie!

Yorkshire Pudding said...

PUZZLES

Why is ice cold?
Why do people die when they grow old?
Why does summer disappear?
Why are there no elephants round here?

What is the difference between right and wrong?
What was here before God came along?
What makes someone foolish or wise?
What makes tears form in our eyes?

When did the very last dodo die?
When did the last pterodactyl fly?
When will I learn to think like you?
When will my dearest dreams come true?

Joan (Devon) said...

Hallo Jenny, loved the puns, but my favourite was the puffin striding along with his wings behind his back. I would love that on my wall where I would be guaranteed a smile every time I look at it.

When I read your post the thought came to me that we were seperated at birth as a) we collect notebooks, b) we love boxes (Ilona's post), c) we love crosswords and d) don't like suduko or numbers games. I think the only place we differ is that you are a cat person whilst I am for dogs, oh and we both have or had 'wild' hair. A bit of a coincidence isn't it? Lol.

I'll have a go at cryptic puzzles, but am not too good with them, but my favourites are the skeleton crosswords where you have to fill them in completely from scratch.

Have a good week Jenny, take care.

jenny_o said...

All great examples of puzzling thoughts. Thanks for contributing, Mr. P.

jenny_o said...

All or most of the pictures here came from icanhas.cheezburger.com - and I've merely pinched them for use here. So you could do the same and pinch them from here to print for your wall. Two wrongs don't make a right, but I don't think anyone will arrest either of us; at least I hope not! hah

We do have a lot in common! That's just a good thing, the way I see it! Kindred spirits.

Skeleton crosswords are hard! My hat's off to you for doing those.

e said...

Describes me to a tee...

only slightly confused said...

Good ones...every single one of them.

Joanne Noragon said...

Oh, that cat eyeing the Samoyed. The former Mr. Boulder.

Diane Henders said...

Bahahaha!!! I'm still laughing. I adore wordplay, and puns in particular! (And now I really hope somebody says 'plethora' at my funeral.)

Thanks for the LOLZ!

messymimi said...

How i love puns! That's one reason i so love The Bard.

Your poem was fun and your funnies were very funny indeed!

Chickens Consigliere said...

I'm with Doug and Bonnie-loved the Alpacalypse. I don't know where you find these-you seem to have a never-ending supply of animal memes lol. The cube/puzzle reminded me of this thing I've been doing. I should probably sit down and write a blog post about it. Basically, GiGi started using mushroom tincture to help with memory/cognitive function. I decided to give it a try to. But I wanted a test to see if there was improvement over time or if I was just handing over my hard earned cash to the mushroom oil snake. I joined this online community where you can take these little tests every day and get graded against the rest of the community on your performance. Turns out I'm pretty dumb. They test you on spacial relationships, cognitive function, verbal reasoning, etc. You get the picture. I did improve greatly over time but only because I started to understand how to complete the puzzles and there's not much variation to them. Or maybe it's the mushroom tincture. I still don't know.

jenny_o said...

Welcome to the club :)

jenny_o said...

Glad you liked them!

jenny_o said...

The look on his face, eh? lol

jenny_o said...

My pleasure! I expect there will probably be plethora said at your funeral :D

jenny_o said...

Happy to entertain you!

jenny_o said...

Yes, crossword puzzles are like that too; there are weird words that are often used and once you know them you can solve more quickly. It's still good for your brain to learn those things, like it's good for your brain to do the online puzzles and figure out the tricks.

You don't need a memory tincture; you're just a spring chicken, Chicken! hah

Diane Stringam Tolley said...

Bwahahahaha! Oh, this is priceless! Started laughing with your poem(s) and just kept on. Where do you find these?! Just the laugh I needed to start my last day in Guadeloupe. (Yes, we’re still here...) I was feeling just a bit sad. (Orange you glad I didn’t say ‘Blue’?)

Steve Reed said...

OMG -- so many puns! Like you, I am more a word person than a math person. Math is NEVER fun for me, even in puzzle form. (Although I can make exceptions for geometry and spatial puzzles -- that's not really math to me.)

Diane Henders said...

Hmmm. True. Too bad I'll miss it... ;-)

jenny_o said...

Yes; yes I yam :) (speaking of orange things)

The last day of a holiday can be so hard. I hope you have lots of great memories to take home with you.

jenny_o said...

Yeah, I kind of lumped math and logic together for simplicity's sake. I'm equally bad at both :)

Susan said...

Hopeless at math but wonder if it was the way it was taught way back in the dark ages. Have you read Smilla's Sense of Snow? There is a description in it of the beauty of math which I wish I had read long ago. I feel like I've missed out on something both lyrical and exciting.

Janie Junebug said...

"Plethora" is one of my favorite words. I'm not good with spatial relationships, yet I can load a dishwasher better than anyone else I know. Language comes naturally to me. I always had to work hard at math and I needed the right teacher to explain it. My daughter is the best math tutor ever.

Love,
Janie

dinthebeast said...

The game is called Rummikub.

-Doug in Sugar Pine

jenny_o said...

Aha - I've heard of that but never played it. I wonder if that might be the miracle game that teaches me to like math ...

jenny_o said...

I haven't read that but I will look for it. I'm always keen for recommendations.

I had good math teachers and I did well in school; I know that wasn't everyone's experience, though. I think the bigger issue for me is just that I don't have much interest in math (or logic). Maybe the book you mention can tweak my interest!

jenny_o said...

I bet you can pack a car trunk well, too - I was amazed the day I realized I can do that as well as (or better than) my husband. Not bragging, just stating facts, right? lol

You're lucky to have a good math tutor in the family!

Janie Junebug said...

You're right--I was always better at packing the suitcases that needed to go in the trunk.

Love,
Janie

jenny_o said...

I knew it!

Spare Parts and Pics said...

We might be opposites. I'm good at identifying patterns and I love sudoku. I've never been very good with words and dislike crossword puzzles. Thanks for a plethora of laughs!

jenny_o said...

You're welcome - and I envy your skills! Thanks for dropping by.

LL Cool Joe said...

I hate maths. I hate board games. I hate crossword puzzles. I hate Scrabble.

Actually, what don't I hate ..... your memes! They cracked me up!

jenny_o said...

And you don't hate jigsaw puzzles - which is a whole other kind of puzzle that not everyone "gets" :D I like them, myself, but so do the cats, so . . .

Martha said...

HAHA! These were so much fun. I really enjoy board games and puzzles. And I prefer words over math ALWAYS! :)

jenny_o said...

Some people (like my husband) are good at both, but I'm with you, Martha :)

Mr. Shife said...

My goodness. Lots and lots of memes. And it is hard choosing my favorite but I did enjoy the cat and 10 doctors one quite a lot. I enjoyed your poem a lot as well.

Dennis said...

All those women candidates running for president should certainly give us men a pause...

jenny_o said...

Thanks, Mr. S - and it's funny, I didn't even think to interpret the "10" as meaning doctors, I thought it was appointments! Both of them work, which makes it even better, IMO.

jenny_o said...

Hah! I see what you did there :D