My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #1001

In The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #1001 from the issue of August 10, 2026, four snails sit around a campfire at night. One holds a flashlight to his horrified face and speaks. My submission is shown below. The drawing is by Lynn Hsu.

"With horror I realized I had wandered into a convention of French chefs."

These captions were too scary even for me:

"His white whale was a blonde ale."
"It was then that I realized I couldn't outrun the man with the saltshaker."
"When I arrived in Margaritaville, my nemesis was searching for his lost shaker of salt."

August 26, 2026 Update: The Finalists

September 3, 2026 Update:  I voted for the caption from beautiful downtown Burbank.

September 7, 2026 Update:  The Winner

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My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #988

In The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #988 from the issue of April 27, 2026, a hammerhead shark is besting three people in a game of poker. The card shark speaks. My submission is below. The drawing is by Lynn Hsu.

"My game has really improved with the new contacts."

May 10, 2026 Update:  The Finalists

May 23, 2026 Update:  I voted for the caption from Springfield.

May 25, 2026 Update:  The Winner

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My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #961

In The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #961 from the issue of September 29, 2025, a car sits at the curb with a "For Rent" sign hanging from the open hood. A sales squirrel holding a clipboard welcomes another squirrel, a prospective client, to examine the car under the hood. My entry appears below. The drawing is by Lynn Hsu.

"If you don't have crypto, I do accept acorns."

October 11, 2025 Update:  The Finalists

October 13, 2025 Update:  I voted for the caption from Morrisville.

October 21, 2025 Update:  The Winner

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My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #906

Competitive diving has come to The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #906 from the issue of July 29, 2024. My caption is shown below. The drawing is by Lynn Hsu.

"She'll never get a fish that way."

These captions lacked correct form:

"Someone should tell them there aren't any fish."
"Don't they know where the fish are?"
"Strangely, I didn't qualify either."

August 11, 2024 Update:  The Finalists

August 14, 2024 Update:  I voted for the caption from Durham.

August 19, 2024 Update:  The Winner

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My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #862

The 3D glasses go on for The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #862 from the issue of August 21, 2023, but they seem oddly different. My timely caption is shown below. The drawing is by Lynn Hsu.

"I don't think we're all seeing the same trial."

August 28, 2023 Update:  The Finalists

September 9, 2023 Update:  I voted for the caption from Torrance.

September 17, 2023 Update:  The Winner

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The CartoonStock Cartoon Caption Contest No. 166

"Yeah, I would be willing to bet 75%  of the people who play CartoonStock have been finalists in The New Yorker. It's people who are good at it."

—Vin Coca

The New Yorker Cartoon Caption

Contest Podcast, Episode 104 56:12

As someone who has never been a finalist in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest, I'm happy to be in the 25% playing along with the heavy hitters. In CartoonStock Caption Contest #166, big cats reside in the neighborhood. Let's go over how this twelfth installment of the monthly cash prize contest works: Five bucks buys up to three and only 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 $55 into the first eleven pay-to-play contests and this one brings my outlay up to $60. I somehow managed to win $200 along the way but as some very talented caption writers play—true notwithstanding Vin Coca's dubious statistic above—I don't expect to be able to keep it up. My three new entries are shown below, above the break. Below the break are my also-rans. The full-color drawing of a real estate broker showing a giant cat tree is by Lynn Hsu.

"Here's a nice cozy space for slinking around."
"You'll be expected to keep the street pest-free."
"Here you can stay comfy but remain aloof."
* * *
"The entire neighborhood is cat-friendly."
"Your family can keep fit without a gym."
"It costs next to nothing to maintain."
"Isn't it purrfect?"

May 12, 2023 Update:  The Winner

The judges deliberate:

Video embedded July  4, 2023

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