In The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #991 from the issue of May 25, 2026, a castle is under siege. One of the warriors, sword in hand, does a ballet leap above the battle. Up in the turret, one of the castle's defenders speaks. My submission is shown below. The drawing is by Hartley Lin.
"That's another way to keep above the fray."
I don't think this one quite works:
"They said to prepare for battle, but he's dyslexic."
June 7, 2026 Update: The Finalists
June 13, 2016 Update: I voted for the caption from Boston.
In the CartoonStock Caption Contest number 202, a creature I take to be Bigfoot is giving a statement to the news media. He is the speaker. The cartoonist is Bill Whitehead.
The rules of the monthly cash prize contest have not changed: Five dollars buys up to three entries. Real cash prizes are $500 for first place and $100 for each of five runners up. As of this writing, I've put $235 into the first forty-seven pay-to-play contests and this forty-eighth challenge brings my total cash outlay up to $240. Having achieved runner-up status with three previous entries, I've collected $300 from CartoonStock, so I'm playing with the house's money, thank you very much. In fact, so few contestants enter that the odds may generally be considered favorable even for less-gifted caption writers. My three entries this round are shown below, above the break.
"I don't know my shoe size. Why?" "If you want to see more of me, I'm on OnlyFans." "I ask that you leave Nessie and me alone." * * * "Is it any wonder I don't come out of the woods?" "Again, no comment."
In the CartoonStock Caption Contest number 199, a family visits a shelter to adopt a pet. The father spots what appears to be a demonic creature of the night lurking outside of its cage, and speaks.
The rules of the monthly cash prize contest have not changed (and neither has my description of them): Five dollars buys up to three entries. Real cash prizes are $500 for first place and $100 for each of five runners up. As of this writing, I've put $220 into the first forty-four pay-to-play contests and this forty-fifth challenge brings my total cash outlay up to $225. Having achieved runner-up status with three previous entries, I've collected $300 from CartoonStock, so I'm playing with the house's money, thank you very much. In fact, so few contestants enter that the odds may generally be considered favorable even for less-gifted caption writers. My three entries this round are shown below, above the break. The cartoonist is Kate Isenberg. She's new to the blog, but not for long; this week she finds herself in The New Yorker's latest caption contest.
"We can save on food. It forages." "Look how its eyes track you around the room." "It's called a battypoo." * * * "This one has no waiting period." "Aw, shucks. It got out of its cage." "This breed has excellent night vision."
