Judge, 1928-12-22 · page 25 of 36
Judge — December 22, 1928 — page 25: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page announces winners of Judge magazine's "Scotchogram" contest—a word game where contestants create nonsensical phrases that *sound* like coherent sentences when read aloud quickly or with a Scottish accent. The humor relies on homophonic confusion: meaningless word combinations that mimic real phrases. For example, the $500 winner's entry "Never thought jute piccolo / Fervid outclass lacquer hood" presumably sounds like an actual sentence when spoken aloud, though the written version is gibberish. Contestants submitted these tongue-twisting phrases for prizes. This represents early 20th-century parlor game humor—playful linguistic wordplay popular in satirical magazines. The contest showcases how Judge engaged readers through participatory humor challenges rather than solely editorial cartooning. The promised translation key on page 32 would reveal what these scrambled phrases actually sound like when spoken.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
JUDGE | | | Winners of Judge’s SCOTCHOGRAM CONTEST $500.00 prize to H. F. Murphy, 2231 La Salle Gardens, South Detroit, Mich. | SCOUCH | GRAMS NEVER THOUGHT JUTE PICCOLO FERVID OUTCLASS LACQUER HOOD NEVER WASH SEDITIOUS HORSEWHIP | THE FLOOR HUMUS NOT MERRIER | $200 prize to $100 prize to E. D. York, H. Selden, Audubon, New Jersey 48 Ridge Drive, Yonkers, N. Y. ( a | scorn] Gran$ \__) 6pans'___) | lens! _| | COMET ONCE BABY ADA | MY PANTHER TORNADO BUTTON BUDDY WONT | NOHOW TO MENDICANT | | DIAZ DEDUCTOR GUTTED GOUT WELCOME SMOTHER | OUT | TIME | Eight $25 Prizes to Mary Grove, 99 Ft. Washington Ave., New York City — Guy J. Sampsel, 25 Franklin Avenue, Lynnbrook, L. I. ‘CLOSURE IN MARMS J PARATED VIA THERMOS N | T. R. Watts, 397 Elberon Avenue, Cincinnati, O. LETTUCE THINK OF TODAYS THAT ARGONNE MAGGIE VENUE AND DIVER YOUNG Neal Weibel, 212 Carver Street, Pittsburgh, Pa. AL Ar PDE WEYS CYPHER YOU DISEASE Grave Hill, 85 Barrow Sireet, New York City Mrs. E. Carney, Mt. Vernon, N. Y. ; | EUROPE BACH, ENDIVE GUTTER SAY 80 PEAR RENT TODAY ARRIVE GUTTA PERCITA BoUG ALL TIDE DO EFFUSE HOOD STOPPLE out o | R. R. Gurley, 514 W. 117th Street, New York City Philip Kane, 3544 Page Blvd., St. Louis, Mo. | YOU AUTONOMY BITTERN TASK ALONE YEARN FEW NOAUS GOOFTER YULE DUTY WRITHING | MORON ADO BALMY DAUGHTER | Translations of the Prize Winning Scotchograms shown on this Page can be found on Page 32. 23 comicbooks.com