Caption Contest Commentary

In Robert Leighton’s cartoon, a court jester is performing a magic trick for his king. The jester has opened a box, out of which many doves have appeared and flown straight out the window. Both the king, who looks upset, and the jester, who looks surprised, are watching the doves fly away. The jester is…
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Everett Glenn’s cartoon is set in a café, where a cat is sitting across a table from a man who actually looks a lot like Glenn, or at least the way Glenn draws himself in his comics. The man is looking at his phone. Above the cat’s head is what Mort Walker, who created “Beetle…
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Mick Stevens’s cartoon is set in a clothing store, where a very short woman addresses a sales clerk who’s standing behind a counter that’s taller than the customer. My first two captions suggest that the customer is considering ways to make the dresses fit: “What if I wash it on hot?” “Can I have it…
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David Ostow’s cartoon is set in a museum, where a guide leads a group from a selection of dark and disturbing works to a collection of cheerier but banal paintings. My first two captions highlight the stark contrast between the two sets of paintings: “These lack artistic merit but are far less depressing.” “Now for…
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