Legal Aid Lawyer Wins New Yorker Caption Contest for Third Time

A Chicago legal aid lawyer has won the New Yorker cartoon caption contest for the third time—likely a record, according to a blog that keeps track.

Larry Wood, a lawyer with the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago, told the Chicago Tribune he writes his captions on Monday mornings when he comes to work and checks the New Yorker website. He spends only about 10 minutes on the endeavor, and tries to apply the same logic to caption writing that leads him to think of inappropriate things to say during staff meetings.

"I don’t want to come across as too excited because nobody else thinks it's that big a deal, but, yeah, I'm thrilled," Wood told the newspaper. "It's the only way I'm ever going to get my name in the New Yorker."

The latest cartoon that got Wood's winning creative juices flowing shows a woman being interviewed by a talk-show host. The windows behind them are covered by prison bars. The winning caption, chosen by audience vote: "Both the movie and I will be released this summer."

Blog About Town says two other contestants have won twice, the Tribune story says.

Wood's other winning captions: For people approaching a panhandling dolphin: "If he's so damn intelligent, let him get a job." For cows talking about a bull smashing through a wall covered by a red drape: "You should be happy. How many husbands even notice window treatments?"

He could have won a fourth time, when he was one of several people who submitted the winning caption; a drawing selected a different winner. The cartoon showed a job interview with chaos in the background. The caption: "How soon can you start?"