“He’s working from home today.”

(by Rich Wolf)

My original caption: “No, he isn’t e-mailing, e-banking or e-trading. He’s e-napping.”

Congratulations, Rich Wolf, on your sixteenth victory! Once again the title is yours — you are definitely one of the funniest people around.

By the way, I thought my original caption was also pretty good, considering it was dreamed up so many years ago, before the era of flat-screen computer monitors and even before cell phones took over from land-line phones.

Here are the other captions that I was seriously considering for top honors:

“This is his best sleep every night.” (by Diane Weisman)

“The computer wouldn’t go into sleep mode . . . so he did!” (by Bruce Morgenstern)

“He’s working in the cloud today.” (by Mark S.)

“We just decided to stay home and spend some quality time together.” (by Pat Foley)

“No need to rush over to see ‘MR. HIGH TECH’ in action, he’ll be working at his present level for at least a couple more hours.” (by Lee Lacewell)

“He’s watching relaxation videos.” (by Michael Lomazow)

“He’s waiting for Windows 12.” (also by Michael Lomazow)

“He’s retro-napping in front of his retro-computer.” (also by Lee Lacewell)

“He can’t talk now. He’s in sleep mode.” (also by Michael Lomazow)

Good work, Captioneers, and thanks for participating! Be on the lookout for Contest No. 198, coming soon.

Contest No. 197 starts right now.

Here are the details: I’ll supply a drawing of one of my old cartoons that has never been published, leaving off my caption. You are invited to supply your funniest captions. To enter your caption, simply (1) click on “See Comments and Add Your Own”. Then (2) scroll down past any other submitted captions and type in your name and your caption in the spaces provided. Then (3) click “Save”. There is no charge to submit captions, and the only prize is the honor of being one of the funniest people around.

Your caption (or captions) will be posted after I review your submission. However, no captions at all will be posted for the first few days of each contest. This is to give everybody a chance to submit their spontaneous, gut-instinct caption without fear of discovering that it was ripped off by somebody else’s similar spontaneous, gut-instinct caption. This is an equal opportunity contest!

There is no limit on the number of captions you may enter for each drawing, but I will only post and consider the first 15 captions from any contestant. Entries will be accepted and posted for one week, after which a winner will be announced and the winning caption will be printed. Below that I will also reveal my original caption.

The cut-off time and date for you to send in your captions is midnight Wednesday, March 15, 2023.

I will be the sole judge. The winning caption will be the one I judge to be the funniest one submitted (not necessarily the one that matches or comes closest to my original caption).

Below is the drawing that needs your funny captions. Good luck, Captioneers!

“Wow, I didn’t realize Rich from accounting was such a hot commodity.”

(by Rachel)

My original caption: “You can’t help but admire their attitude.”

Congratulations, Rachel, on this victory — hopefully, the first of many more. You are now officially one of the funniest people around, with all the boasting rights that attach to that honor.

Once again, I now feel that my original caption was pretty feeble, and I guess that’s why it never got bought or published. To all of you Captioneers who entered “topical” captions (with references to Trump, the Super Bowl, Trump University, Madoff and Classified Papers, for instance), I’ll repeat what I’ve said a few times before: these are “gag” cartoons, not editorial, political or sports cartoons, and as such the humor in the caption should be of a universal and timeless nature. Ideally, the cartoon should be just as funny twenty years from now as it is today.

Here are the other captions that I was seriously considering for top honors:

“I understand they only took a 30 day lease.” (by Michael Lomazow)

“Those undercover FBI agents need to be less obvious.” (also by Michael Lomazow)

“It sounds like a scam, but it’s strangely appealing . . .” (by Gayden Wren)

“I feel an overwhelming and inexplicable desire to walk through that door.” (by Marc Eliot Stein)

“I heard they filed for bankruptcy.” (by Jonathan Stein)

“Clients went to the poor house and the owner went to the Big House.” (by Pat Foley)

“You have to give them credit for their chutzpah.” (also by Michael Lomazow)

Contest No. 197 will be posted before you know it. Watch for it, and thanks for participating!

Contest No. 196 starts right now.

Here are the details: I’ll supply a drawing of one of my old cartoons that has never been published, leaving off my caption. You are invited to supply your funniest captions. Simply (1) click on “See Comments and Add Your Own”. Then (2) scroll down past any other submitted captions and type in your name and your caption in the spaces provided. Then (3) click “Save”.

Your caption (or captions) will be posted after I review your submission. However, no captions at all will be posted for the first few days of each contest. This is to give everybody a chance to submit their spontaneous, gut-instinct caption without fear of discovering that it was ripped off by somebody else’s similar spontaneous, gut-instinct caption. This is an equal opportunity contest!

There is no limit on the number of captions you may enter for each drawing, but I will only post and consider the first 15 captions from any contestant. Entries will be accepted and posted for one week, after which a winner will be announced and the winning caption will be printed. Below that I will also reveal my original caption.

The cut-off time and date for you to send in your captions is midnight Wednesday, February 15, 2023.

I will be the sole judge. The winning caption will be the one I judge to be the funniest one submitted (not necessarily the one that matches or comes closest to my original caption).

Below is the drawing that needs your funny captions. Good luck, Captioneers!

“It’s from his early works, a mixed media in crayons and a juice box.”

(by Brendan F. Gannon)

My original caption: “Computer programming is also a fine art, you know.”

Congratulations, Brendan F. Gannon, on your fifth win! It’s been a while since your last victory (Contest No. 167), but persistence certainly pays off.

I now realize that my original caption was not particularly funny. I was trying to portray a nerdy guy who is on a first date with this gal. He has taken her to an art museum and picks this moment to impress her with what he does for a living. I suppose some publication or other might have bought my cartoon if I had only put more thought into it.

Here are the other caption entries that I was seriously considering for top honors:

“It’s supposed to be upside down but we like it better this way.” (by Harvey Appelbaum)

“Some art critics think this painting is a forgery.” (by Pat Foley)

“It’s way too expensive but isn’t that the point.” (by Michael Lomazow)

“It seems the electrician forgot to remove the old light wire.” (by Ken Wilkinson)

“This is part of our ‘No Chance of Theft Wing’.” (by Rich Wolf)

“You are getting sleepy . . . !” (by Kay Ralph)

“One can only imagine the painstaking minutes required to create a masterpiece such as this.” (by Lee Lacewell)

Contest No. 196 will be posted before you know it, Captioneers. Thanks for all the submissions!