Robert Leighton’s cartoon is set in a daycare center, where an adult man in a jacket and tie is sitting on the floor, happily playing with blocks. A woman who’s dressed casually is watching him. Standing next to and addressing her is a woman in business attire.
Assuming the professionally-dressed women is the man’s wife, she might be complaining about her husband’s refusal to earn a living:
- “I just wish he could work well with others.”
- “Why can’t he also work well with others?”
Assuming she is not is wife but is in charge in charge of the daycare center, she could be admonishing her employee: “We don’t have a ‘bring your husband to work’ day.”
Or explaining why the center has such an old student:
- “His mother dropped him off in 1985 and never returned.”
- “We don’t discriminate based on age.”
- “He sued us for age discrimination and we settled .”
Or issuing a warning: “His tantrums are terrifying.”
Or identifying the man’s main weakness:
- “He grew, but he never grew up.”
- “Some grow up. Others just grow.”
Now let’s see how you did:
In an episode of “Modern Family,” Cameron Tucker, who was born on Leap Day, insists that he should be allowed to act like he’s just ten years old on his fortieth birthday. This caption distilled the joke behind that episode into just six words: “His birthday is on February 29th.”
Several of you pointed out that adults who insist on acting like children should not be admired for their youthful spirit:
- “I wish he’d get in touch with his inner adult.”
- “Are you sure this is only his second childhood?”
- “Childlike wonder is overrated.”
Here’s a terrific variation on a meaningless statement designed to make people feel better about aging: “Fifty is the new five.” (Alec Baldwin’s character on “30 Rock” had a more sexist take on this statement: “Fifty is the new forty 40. For me. Fifty is still sixty for women.” Many thanks to Robert Carlock for those lines.)
Here’s the week’s best inappropriate joke, which is especially disturbing given the setting of Leighton’s cartoon: “I need to tell you about his plans for show-and-tell.”
Here are the best scatological jokes:
- “If he needs to be changed, I quit.”
- “It’s your turn. I changed him yesterday.”
And here are the best puns:
- “In his case, they’re stumbling blocks.”
- “It’s the terrible forties.”
Several of you highlighted the special challenges of providing daycare for an adult man:
- “We don’t normally see gloating at this stage.”
- “At times he can be bossy.”
- “Have you ever tried to put a 165 pound man down for a nap?”
Maybe that is why the woman in charge of the daycare center would offer her employee a special inducement:
- “What if I pay you double?”
- “That’s why I’m paying you double.”
Like I did, several of you tried to explain why the man is in a daycare center:
- “What’s the opposite of gifted?”
- “Mr. Simmons is in our postgraduate program.”
- “His mom dropped him off forty years ago.”
- “We’re still looking for his parents.”
A couple of you alluded to the fourth Thursday of every April, when children in the United States accompany their parents to work:
- “It’s bring your unemployed husband to work day.”
- “It’s Take Your Manchild to Work Day.”
I like the way this entry focuses on a largely unnoticed detail in Leighton’s cartoon—the letters on the blocks that the man is playing with: “He’s been trying to spell LAZY all morning.” Like another highlighted entry—“What’s the opposite of gifted?”—it explains why the man might still be in a children’s daycare center.
These next two entries focus on an important distinction between children and adults:
- “He’s shy, so I like to sneak a little vodka into his juice box.”
- “He likes a Hot Toddy before nap time.”
And here are two strong captions that don’t fit neatly into any category:
- “His children drop him off every morning at nine.”
- “He’s our only pre-schooler that drives home for lunch.”
This week’s winner is the beautifully concise, “Fifty is the new five.”
ENTER THIS WEEK’S CAPTION CONTEST
Lawrence Wood has won The New Yorker’s Cartoon Caption Contest a record-setting seven times and been a finalist two other times. He has collaborated with New Yorker cartoonists Peter Kuper, Lila Ash, Felipe Galindo Gomez, and Harry Bliss (until Bliss tossed him aside, as anyone would, to collaborate with Steve Martin). Nine of his collaborations have appeared in The New Yorker, and one is included in the New Yorker Encyclopedia of Cartoons.