Today's four solved words are COMIC, FAULT, PELVIS, and VASTLY. This classic newspaper puzzle was created by David L. Hoyt and Jeff Knurek, the brilliant team behind the Jumble series.

Each word unscrambles from IOCMC, LUTAF, VPSLEI, and YLATVS respectively. Once you solve these four words, you'll use specific letters to crack the final bonus answer related to gambling addiction.

After solving your four main words, certain letters from each answer are marked with circles. You take those circled letters and unscramble them into a final phrase that answers the cartoon's clue.

Today's bonus scrambled letters spell out a phrase about gambling problems. The beauty of this mechanic is that it forces you to understand all four words before finishing the puzzle, making it feel rewarding.

Start by identifying uncommon letters like V, P, and Y since they appear less frequently. VPSLEI and YLATVS have these distinctive letters that narrow down possibilities quickly.

Then work with vowels. Both I and E appear in multiple words, so figure out where vowels must go. Save COMIC and FAULT for last since they're the easiest once your brain is warmed up from the trickier ones.

PELVIS combines unusual letters like V and P with consonants that don't naturally group together in English. Many solvers expect more common words and skip past the medical anatomy term.

However, once you know PELVIS is an anatomy word, the solution clicks instantly. Word puzzle experts recommend thinking about science terms when you see uncommon letter patterns, which makes solving much faster.