Jumble
Encyclopedia
Jumble is a word puzzle
with a clue, a drawing illustrating the clue, and a set of words, each of which is “jumbled” by permuting its letters to make an anagram
. A solver reconstructs the words, then arranges letters at marked positions in the words to spell the answer to the clue. The clue and illustration are often designed to mislead the solver.
Jumble is like the Round Robin game from Supermarket Sweep
.
Jumble was created in 1954 by Martin Naydel, who is better known for his work on comic books. Jumble is one of the most valuable properties of Tribune Media Services
, which holds the rights to the JUMBLE trademark. Daily and Sunday Jumble puzzles appear in hundreds of newspapers.
Jumble puzzles found in newspaper
s often have four base anagrams, two of five letters and two of six. One method of solving Jumbles is to solve all but one of the anagrams, then use the marked letters to infer the final phrase. This determines the missing marked letters, which may help solve the last base anagram.
for Microsoft Windows
. The game features 5 modes of play ranging from classic Jumble to crossword puzzles to an easier Jumble mode for kids.
TextTwist, a Java
game by GameHouse
, is similar to Jumble. Players form words from a set of six scrambled letters, and must find at least one 6-letter word using all the letters to get to the next round. Additional points are granted for words using at least three letters.
A TV game show based on Jumble aired in 1994. It was hosted by game show veteran Wink Martindale
, and aired on The Family Channel (now called ABC Family
).
In the Seinfeld
episode “The Pez Dispenser,” Kramer
, upon hearing that George Costanza
was doing crossword puzzles with his girlfriend, said he “likes to do the Jumble.”
In the Strong Bad email from Homestar Runner
entitled "Caper," Strong Bad and The Cheat break into Homestar's house to steal the Jumbles from his newspapers. Strong Bad refers to this in song as "The Jumble Caper."
Word game
Word games and puzzles are spoken or board games often designed to test ability with language or to explore its properties.Word games are generally engaged as a source of entertainment, but have been found to serve an educational purpose as well...
with a clue, a drawing illustrating the clue, and a set of words, each of which is “jumbled” by permuting its letters to make an anagram
Anagram
An anagram is a type of word play, the result of rearranging the letters of a word or phrase to produce a new word or phrase, using all the original letters exactly once; e.g., orchestra = carthorse, A decimal point = I'm a dot in place, Tom Marvolo Riddle = I am Lord Voldemort. Someone who...
. A solver reconstructs the words, then arranges letters at marked positions in the words to spell the answer to the clue. The clue and illustration are often designed to mislead the solver.
Jumble is like the Round Robin game from Supermarket Sweep
Supermarket Sweep
Supermarket Sweep is an American television game show. Part of the format was similar to other team-based quiz shows; the other part was a live-action race through a supermarket, a novel concept at the time...
.
Jumble was created in 1954 by Martin Naydel, who is better known for his work on comic books. Jumble is one of the most valuable properties of Tribune Media Services
Tribune Media Services
Tribune Media Services is a syndication company owned by the Tribune Company.The company has two divisions, "News and Features" and "Entertainment Products"...
, which holds the rights to the JUMBLE trademark. Daily and Sunday Jumble puzzles appear in hundreds of newspapers.
Jumble puzzles found in newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
s often have four base anagrams, two of five letters and two of six. One method of solving Jumbles is to solve all but one of the anagrams, then use the marked letters to infer the final phrase. This determines the missing marked letters, which may help solve the last base anagram.
In other media
Various electronic versions of Jumble have been released, including a version by Hasbro InteractiveHasbro Interactive
Hasbro Interactive was an American video game production and publishing subsidiary of Hasbro, the large game and toy company.Hasbro Interactive was formed late in 1995 in order to compete in the computer and video game arena. Several Hasbro properties, such as Monopoly and Scrabble, had already...
for Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
. The game features 5 modes of play ranging from classic Jumble to crossword puzzles to an easier Jumble mode for kids.
TextTwist, a Java
Java (programming language)
Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...
game by GameHouse
GameHouse
GameHouse is a casual game developer, publisher, digital video game distributor, and portal, based in Seattle, Washington, United States-History:...
, is similar to Jumble. Players form words from a set of six scrambled letters, and must find at least one 6-letter word using all the letters to get to the next round. Additional points are granted for words using at least three letters.
A TV game show based on Jumble aired in 1994. It was hosted by game show veteran Wink Martindale
Wink Martindale
Winston Conrad Martindale , known professionally as Wink Martindale, is an American disc jockey and television game show host.-Radio:...
, and aired on The Family Channel (now called ABC Family
ABC Family
ABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...
).
In the Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
episode “The Pez Dispenser,” Kramer
Kramer
-People:*Kramer , a musician and record producer.Fictional* Cosmo Kramer, a character from the American sitcom Seinfeld, usually referred to as just "Kramer".For other people, real or fictional, with the last name of "Kramer", see Kramer...
, upon hearing that George Costanza
George Costanza
George Louis Costanza is a character in the American television sitcom Seinfeld , played by Jason Alexander. He has variously been described as a "short, stocky, slow-witted, bald man" , "Lord of the Idiots" , and as "the greatest sitcom character of all time"...
was doing crossword puzzles with his girlfriend, said he “likes to do the Jumble.”
In the Strong Bad email from Homestar Runner
Homestar Runner
Homestar Runner is a Flash animated Internet cartoon. It mixes surreal humor with references to retro pop culture, notably video games, classic television, and popular music.The cartoons are nominally centered on the title character, Homestar Runner...
entitled "Caper," Strong Bad and The Cheat break into Homestar's house to steal the Jumbles from his newspapers. Strong Bad refers to this in song as "The Jumble Caper."