google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Sunday, Oct 30, 2016 Joe Schewe

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Oct 30, 2016

Sunday, Oct 30, 2016 Joe Schewe

Theme: "Eekology 101" - Halloween puns.

23A. Ghosts' car safety devices? : SHEET BELTS. Seat belts.

25A. Witches living together? : BROOMMATES. Roommates. This and 23A has extra consonant added.

51A. Dracula's least favorite lunch? : STAKE SANDWICH. Steak sandwich. Total homophone.

70A. Monster's favorite cereal? : SCREAM OF WHEAT. Cream of wheat. Same as 23A/25A.

98A. Dracula's favorite fruit? : NECKTARINE. Nectarine. No surface meaning.

102A. Where werewolves seek stardom? : HOWLLYWOOD. Hollywood. No surface meaning.

32D. Monster's daily newspaper reading? : HORRORSCOPE. Horoscope. Sound alike.

43D. Monsters' cookie-selling group? : GHOUL SCOUTS. Girl scouts. Vowel sound change.

Another debut. Conflagrations, Joe, great grid!

Punny theme is an art I have not grasped. I would not have considered 98A & 102A as they're totally madeup words and make no surface sense other than they sound like certain phrases. But as we've seen a few other LAT puzzles this year, punny theme can involve a variety of changes as long as the result is amusing & the entries are all related to one common thread.

Across:    

1. Golfer's concern : HOOK. Thought of TRAP first. We also have 16. Golf scorecard number : PAR

5. Spanish appetizers : TAPAS

10. Bill entry : CHARGE

19. Southern cuisine staple : PONE. Not OKRA.

20. __ Coast : IVORY

21. Above-ground, as a ski lift : AERIAL. Got via crosses.

22. Before, to Byron : ERE

27. Retreats : LAIRS. We also have 106. Binge-watching site : DEN

28. Warty amphibians : TOADS. Not NEWTS.

30. Pacific relative of the Canada goose : NENE

31. Muffin man : THOMAS. English muffin. Not Stud muffin.


33. Evening reception : SOIREE

34. "Just to See You Smile" country singer : MCGRAW (Tim)

36. Tool with a blade : SHOVEL

37. More sick : ILLER. Also 40. Firstborn : ELDEST. 89. More spicy : HOTTER. 92. More pleasant : NICER.  94. Most lucid : SANEST

38. Saharan : SERE. Not ARID.

39. Messed up : ERRED. We also have 60. Transpose, say : MISTYPE
 
42. Spanish noble : HIDALGO. Learning moment for me.

45. One of five inhabited U.S. entities : TERR. D-Otto was stationed in Guam.

46. Seed covering : ARIL. Pomegranate seeds are called arils. I've been OD'ing on them the past few weeks. The season is almost over.

47. Retreat : OASIS

48. Buzz : HUM

50. Iconic WWII island, familiarly : IWO

55. Lennon's lady : ONO

56. State of rest : REPOSE

58. Lumps : CLODS

59. __ tape : DUCT

62. Daycare banes : BRATS. And 113. Like 62-Across : SASSY

63. Anniversary celebration : JUBILEE. No couple beat Chickie & Bill on our blog. Spitzboov and Betty are close.

66. Donald, to Dewey : UNCA

67. Top-rated : PRIMO

68. World __ : SERIES. Timely. No incident. Lots of thought goes into Rich's editing process.

69. U.N. workers' gp. : ILO. Put in ILA first.

74. French vineyard : CRU

77. Unit in a gym : REP

78. Prickle : THORN. Painful to remove the one in our garden last week. Should have just left it there for Mr. Winter.


79. Viscount's superior : EARL

80. Troubles : WOES

81. Place for afternoon refreshment : TEAROOM. Retired folks in Guangzhou gather for afternoon tea & idle chat every day. Neighborhood dim sum is very affordable.

83. Saunters : MOSEYS

86. Reason : CAUSE

87. Failure : BUST

88. Emulated Paul Bunyan : HEWED
 
90. Help with money, perhaps : DONATE

93. Road hog? : HARLEY

 95. "Ben-Hur," e.g. : EPIC

96. Common teen phase : ANGST

97. Mosaic artist : TILER. I'm impressed by Splynter's bathroom job.

107. Choler : IRE

108. Futuristic 2009 James Cameron film : AVATAR

109. Conjure up : EVOKE

110. Real estate sale : ACRE. I read the clue but pictured "estate sale".

111. Equinox mo. : MAR

112. Negligent : REMISS
 
114. Story : YARN

Down:
 
1. Officejet Pro printers : HPs. We're now using HP Envy.

2. "__ la la!" : OOH

3. Till bill : ONE

4. Faint : KEEL OVER

5. Shin-related : TIBIAL

6. Declares : AVERS. Or AVOWs.

7. D.C. bigwigs : POLs

8. Works at a gallery : ART. Also 29. Many Manets : OILS

9. Ventricular contraction : SYSTOLE. New word to me.

10. Minnelli movie musical : CABARET

11. One on a drive : HERDER. Oh, cattle drive.

12. Sprang up : AROSE

13. Kia model : RIO

14. Whale group : GAM. Not POD.

15. Slippery __ : ELM

16. Pan in the air : PETER. Peter Pan. Nice clue.

17. Quicken Loans, for one : ARENA. Home to the Cavaliers.

18. Adjust, as a faulty stitch : RESEW

24. Taught to submit : TAMED. Wild animals.

26. "Heaven Can Wait" character : ANGEL
 
31. Meant to lose : THREW

33. Move obliquely : SIDLE

34. Front man? : MEDIC. Oh, battlefront.

35. Wall Street debacle : CRASH. And 83. Wall Street headlines : MERGERS. Clue echo.

36. UFO-tracking org. : SETI. This will irk Barry G. SETI does not track UFOs.

38. Spanish ayes : SI SI

40. Clear : ERASE

41. Similar to : LIKE

42. Relatives of hems : HAWS

44. Smidgen : OUNCE. Also 65. Smidgen : BIT.  Clue echo again.

46. Perched on : ATOP

47. Chances : ODDS

49. Speck of dust : MOTE

51. Mole, maybe : SPY

52. Curtain fabric : SCRIM

53. Budget competitor : ALAMO. Car rental.

54. __ this world : NOT OF. Not OUT OF.

57. LAX info : ETA

59. One usually has six sides : DIE. This got me last time.

60. The Sierra Nevada's Mount __ : MUIR. Guessable.

61. Bay, say : INLET

62. Fiber source : BRAN. I admire those who eat brown rice or whole wheat. I've got to eat white rice.

63. Catcalls : JEERS

64. River through Orsk : URAL

67. Salon job : PERM

68. One-horse carriage : SHAY

70. Pompous gait : STRUT

71. Stopped waffling : CHOSE

72. Origin : ROOT

73. Overrun with crabgrass : WEEDY

75. Odometer control : RESET

76. One with an instruction manual : USER

80. Port feature : WATERWAY

82. Unawares : ABACK. OK, taken unawares/aback.

84. Symbols of wisdom : OWLS

85. Boils : SEETHES

86. __ Island : CONEY

88. Animator Bill and others : HANNAs. No other famous Hanna.

89. Eponymous comet tracker : HALLEY

90. Casual jacket fabric : DENIM. Finally threw away my black leather jacket. Too many cuts and scratches. I might consider a denim jacket next. Much easier to maintain.

91. Art form with singing : OPERA
 
93. Part of Hispaniola : HAITI

94. Outfit at the track : SILKS. Race track.

97. Ark units : TWOS

99. Carwash challenge : TAR

100. Blvd. cousin : AVE

101. Butter from a farm : RAM. Butt-er.

103. In vitro cells : OVA

104. Andean stew veggie : OCA. Never had it.


105. '60s-'70s teammate of Esposito : ORR
 
C.C.


35 comments:

OwenKL said...

FIRight.

Another clecho Retreat: LAIRS + OASIS. I'm surprised MOTE wasn't also clued as smidgen. 68a I think C.C. wanted coincidence, not incident.

{B+, B+, B, B.}

The once was a zombie from the IVORY COAST
Who wanted to give his GHOUL friend a toast!
But the wine leaked outside
Through the holes in his hide!
He was left with no spirits, so gave up the GHOST!

The blind man enters in a SAUNTERING way,
MOSEYS up to the bar, and orders O.J.
The STRUT in his stride
Makes men SIDLE aside,
As he spiels, "my blinds can add a sash to your SHAY!"

Go to the door, and there are the BRATS,
In costumes of DENIM and SILKS and weird hats!
If they're SASSY demanding
The treats that we're handing,
We'll sic our pets on them: OWLS and bats!

Ghosties and ghoulies have a JAMBOREE,
A PRIMO party till the hours are wee!
The wild SOIRÉE
Is like a CABARET!
Gives ANGST to the ANGELS, raise their SYSTOLE!

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Thanks, Joe and CC!

Very cute halloween theme!

Had to perp and wag a bit. I too had "okra" and a few others first.

Russian friend and family brought dinner. Wonderful wild salmon! Gluten free pumpkin pie!

My big pumpkin in the garden didn't last until the desired day. Darn.

Have a great day!

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

I love punny puzzles, personally, so I was happy to spend some quality time with this one. HOWLYWOOD was probably the weakest entry, but the rest tickled my funny bone just fine. Or should that be my scary bone?

Yes, I was irked to see the cluing on SETI. I really wish Rich would stop doing this (and there have been LA Times puzzles in the past where SETI was clued correctly). But watcha gonna do, huh?

I've heard of HIDALGO as a place and, I believe, a movie (wasn't that the one where Viggo Mortenson was in some transcontinental horse race or something). Never knew it had anything to do with Spanish royalty, however, so I resisted putting it in even as the perps forced it onto me. Eventually, though, they left me no choice.

I finally had the chance to go to a TAPAS restaurant during our last vacation and was surprised to discover that, despite how they are usually clued in crossword puzzles, TAPAS were the actual entree and not just appetizers. They were small portions, sure, but you eat multiple TAPAS at once for your meal. That'll teach me to think I've learned something from crosswords. Next, I bet I'll discover that OLIO isn't really margarine after all and that an ERNE isn't really a type of sea eagle...

Interesting to see GAM instead of POD. I don't know if we've discussed this before, but I first encountered GAM as a word for a group of whales many, many years ago when reading "Moby Dick" in school and then never saw it again. For years, every time I would see a clue in a crossword puzzle asking for a group of whales, I kept thinking it would be GAM, but it was always POD. SO I eventually gave up and just went with POD. Including today, which is why it was so surprising when it didn't fit and turned out to actually be GAM for a change. I won't say it rocked my world, but it was still a pleasant surprise.

Oh -- and no idea on MCGRAW.

I can't believe it's not oleo said...

Actually, OLIO is not margarine. Its a "collection of things."

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Started at top left, as usual, but TRA LA LA kept that area white until the very end. Managed to get the theme, so I was able to WAG SHEET BELTS, and that area finally fell. Wasn't crazy about ILLER, but the rest of the puzzle was fun. I also fell into the ARID/SERE trap, C.C. Nice debut, Joe. BTW, I went to high school with a Judy Schewe in Wisconsin (she pronounced it Shay-Vee), any relation?

"Muffin Man" THOMAS was a gimme. We've always got a box (or two) on hand.

Wasn't sure about HIDALGO, but there's a street with that name near the Houston Galleria. With HIDAL in place, I WAGged the GO.

Unfamiliar with SYSTOLE, but knew about the systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings, so it made sense.

Big Easy said...

On All Hallow's Eve Eve a punny spook theme was to be expected. All the theme answers were easily guessable after one or two perps.

Did anybody notice the HANNA-S Barbera and Quick Draw MCGRAW in the puzzle today?
Unawares- I was UNAWARE that ABACK had anything to do with its plural (?). Also didn't know HIDALGO, GAM (legs?), SCRIM, or THOMAS muffins. I know systolic and diastolic from blood pressure so SYSTOLE was finished by crosses.

C.C. I never knew white rice or white bread existed until about age 6 when I went over to some new neighbors' house and saw HOWDY DOODY on television and saw the Wonder Bread commercials. I still eat whole wheat, whole grain bread. White rice- eat it with gumbo or red beans and that's about it.

Barry- Tim McGraw, married to Faith Hill, and son of Phillies & Mets pitcher Tug McGraw.

Lemonade714 said...

BG it is good to have you back but tapas are small plates - appetizers - which can replace a conventional single dish entree. You learned correctly what tapas are. Sorry you got autocorrect or whatever on your oleo comment. I have learned the hard way to be careful with the written word here, someone will jump on any misstep.

I am glad Rich embraces a puzzle like this which is just silliness and not intended to be a scholarly work.

Welcome Joe and thanks C. C.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

This was a banner day for w/o's: Tra/ooh, pod/gam, eel/elm, out of/not of, etc. Iller is like fingernails on a blackboard. I enjoyed the timely theme and liked all of the theme answers, silly or not. The title says it all, anyway. 🎃 😡 💀 🕸

Congrats and thanks, Joe, for a punny Sunday and thanks, CC, for the breezy recap.

Am I alone in thinking that Thomas's English muffins are not as tasty as they used to be? There is something missing from the flavor or the texture that I remember from years ago. Then, again, hardly anything tastes as good as it used to. I can't remember the last time I ate a pork chop that didn't resemble a tough, tasteless piece of cardboard.

Have a great day.

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

Fun and easy romp today. I enjoy these tongue-in-cheek themes. Hand up for slight annoyance at the SETI clue, but it went away. I thought Hidalgo was simply a Spanish name - apparently not. I've only once been to a tapas bar, near here; it was delicious but priced in the Manhattan range.

Morning, C.C.! I enjoy rice however it comes. Our local Chinese restaurant, in business for perhaps 20 years, has always served white rice. I recent times the proprietor added brown rice as an option for which a premium is charged. We generally opt for it because the texture is nice.

Anonymous said...

Funny how the guy who is always pointing out errors in other's posts is lamenting that BG was humorously corrected. Don't pay any attention to the fact that his opening sentence was used to clarify that BG was wrong in his opinion of what TAPAS actually are.

You can't make this stuff up people!

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-A very nice seasonal tour
-If t his is PAR for you, you’re a better golfer than I am!
-Lyric of hypocrisy from 1776 - “Who drinks a toast to the IVORY COAST? Hail Africa, the slavers have come, New England with bibles and rum”
-The first AERIAL ski lift was invented in Omaha by U.P.
-Some highway workers use those SHOVELS for leaning posts
-ILLER sounds about as awkward as this phrase
-The treaty of Guadalupe HIDALGO still rankles many Mexicans
-I will not be in a state of REPOSE at the end. I’ll be in an urn
-There are fewer CLODS around here because of this system
-The Cubs can’t find their bats in the WORLD SERIES
-DONATERS are fleeing Omaha Goodwill when it was revealed the CEO had a million dollar salary
-SYSTOLIC Blood pressure number
-Did anyone shake and ERASE this great image?
-Remember, HALLEY rhymes with valley not daily
-Easy one – What 50’s hit had OOH LA LA as a lyric?

TTP said...

Good morning all.

Haunted French pancakes give me the crepes.


That was a fun puzzle Joe. Timely scheduling by Rich. Thanks CC. I agree; it was a great grid.

Read Spanish eyes. Entered ojos. Cleared my eyes and corrected to SI SI. A few other corrections.

Muffin man = THOMAS. It's the correct answer, but we think BAYS English Muffins are much better.

One-horse carriage ? If one seater, then sulky. If two seater, then chaise, or more commonly, SHAY. Made me think of the ubiquitous two seat Amish horse and buggy seen daily in my youth. And on their farms, the great draft horses, or drays. You didn't often see a dray pulling a shay though.

STRUT - Name that tune: You walked into the party, like you were walking on a yacht. Your hat strategically dipped below one eye, your scarf, it was apricot. You had one eye on the mirror...

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Fun puzzle today. Got it all without help or errors. Hand up for not liking ILLER, my least favorite of the day. Favorite was NECKTARINE.

Had Ott for ORR - got my sports mixed up. Other erasures were arid for SERE, pod for GAM, slippery Eel for ELM, Ellis Island (not again) for CONEY, Spanish ojos for SISI (read the damned clue, dummy), Hertz for ALAMO and music for OPERA.

Unknowns were HIDALGO, choler, Mt. MUIR and SHAY (wanted pram/tram). Knew viscount and EARL, but not the pecking order. I don't know a thing about Heaven Can Wait, but figured that heaven must need an ANGEL in the cast.

Thanks Joe and CC for an entertaining morning.

Bluehen said...

HG, the Everly Brothers' "Wake Up Little Susie".
TTP, Carly Simon's "You're So Vain".

I was really stumped on the clue "Southern cuisine staple" when "one can of condensed cream of chicken soup" wouldn't fit.

Cya!

Chairman Moe said...

"Puzzling Thoughts"

TTP @ 10:53 ---> loved the pun; agree w Bay's vs Thomas'; glad the Steelers have a "bye" this week; You're So Vain (Carly Simon with a cameo from Mick Jagged) is the answer to your question - great song

A fun Sunday solve - a few w/o's but no cheats needed

Here's an old limerick to end the week:

Do you know the old nursery rhyme drill?
When two kids wandered up the big hill?
Are you taken ABACK,
That you didn't know Jack
Had never really fallen for Jill?

Go Tribe!!! ⚾️⚾️⚾️

Chairman Moe said...

Damn autocorrect - Mick Jagger not Jagged

Sheesh!

Anonymous T said...

Sunday Lurk say...

D-O: HIDALGO (Richard) was also an Astro right-fielder in the early aughts. He had a cannon for an arm (>20 outfield assists one year; lead the majors IIRC)

{A, B, A, A-}

TTP - cute crepe pun. Nailed "You're so Vain" very much unlike HG's lyric; I couldn't get Sasson out of my hair.

Re: SETI - I agree
Galactic eavesdroppers
Signal searchers
I've got other clues I'd proffer but will reserve for future use :-)

C. Moe. Looks like The Tribe is going to take the SERIES unless the Cubs stop swinging at crap. I do hope the Cubs win tonight so a) CLE isn't celebrating in front of CHI, b) Wrigley gets to see one win, c) CLE can celebrate at home.

Wait'll next year! :-)

Y'all have a great Sunday.

Cheers, -T

MJ said...

Good day to all!

What a fun puzzle today. I enjoyed all the timely, punny theme answers. Had tAle , then sAga, before YARN at 114A. Also didn't know that a group of whales was called anything other than a pod, so GAM was 100% perps. Thanks, Joe, and congrats on your LAT debut. And thanks for the expo, C.C. As for rice, I use jasmine or wild rice.

Lemonade--Cute photo of little Charlotte at her spa day.

Enjoy the day!

Misty said...

What a clever, brilliant Halloween puzzle! I just loved every minute I spent on it, and can't believe how many different theme clues there were and that I was able to guess many of them even before a lot of letters were filled in. A total joy--thank you so much, Joe--and congratulations on a terrific debut! And many thanks for the helpful expo, C.C. I'm afraid I still don't understand SETI, though.

I'm so behind on everything that I have no Halloween decorations up at all. I used to decorate the house lavishly with all sorts of pumpkins and witch and ghost and spider web things, only to find that we got only four or five trick-or-treaters since our street is a bit off the main drag. But after doing this puzzle I'm inspired to dig our at least one pumpkin or two, in honor of the season! So, many thanks again!

Have a great Halloween, everybody!

Manac said...

21A Aerial( ski lift ) In case Argyle wants to know what one looks like
Was working up that way Thurs. & Fri. Snow guns were already going at most resorts.

70D Her Strut

Yellowrocks said...

Quick and fun Halloween puzzle. Clever theme. No new words for me. Four letter Mt. in the Sierra Nevada with second letter U had to be named after the great naturalist, MUIR, Father of the National Park system. I knew Hidalgo with just HID from reading fictional novels of the old west in Mexico involving the Spanish nobility's progeny.

It is not strange to me to see TAPAs served as an entire meal, although they really are appetizers. We sometimes order many American type appetizers to share as our entire meal. The more friends in on this the merrier. We also do this with Chinese entrees.

We love Thomas's. At breakfast I have them with melted cheese or spread them with butter and lemon curd, and for lunch, as individual English muffin pizzas. I haven't seen Bay English muffins. IM, I used to think the taste had changed, but I have become inured to this by now and don't notice it.
This summer I thought our famous local tomatoes tasted inferior to other years. I am surmising they picked them too early so they would keep longer. Next year, new farm.

Jayce said...

Cool puzzle, funny theme puns. Mostly WEES: didn't care for ILLER; had TRA, POD, ARID, and TALE at first; noticed that clue for SETI; sussed SYSTOLE. Was totally thrown off by Quicken Loans; what an ugly name for an arena. My engineering mind read "Adjust, as a faulty stitch" as "Adjust, as a faulty switch" which also threw me off for a while. Wanted something like TAWNINESS for "Port feature."
Husker Gary, those blood pressure figures are really low (good!), considering that rapid 88 pulse rate. My BP is too high but "under control."
LW and I like Basmati rice.
LW's older brother, who is retired, gathers with other retirees for chit-chat and tea every morning. They live in Toronto.
My maternal grandmother was so wise that her nickname was WOL (which is OWL in Winnie the Pooh land.)
Best wishes to you all. I think today Lucina is busy making tamales.

Bluehen said...

YR, could your farm have changed the variety of tomato they grow? Many of the blight/disease resistant varieties that farmers now like to grow just don't taste the same as the old heritage/heirloom varieties we grew up with. Not that they are long distance varieties that are picked green and gassed to look red and are tasteless, the disease resistant varieties are much better than that. They just aren't the same as we remember fondly. Our CSA grow exclusively heirloom varieties, segregates them by variety, and identifies them. I'm particularly fond of Cherokee Purples which do not look ripe, but they are. Just sayin'.

Yellowrocks said...

Last week in the late morning I entered my newly renovated bathroom and heard an odd HUM. I checked inside the vanity doors for pipe or electrical problems. Nada. Finally I opened a vanity drawer and found my electric toothbrush buzzing away and vibrating the drawer with an odd sound. I had not heard it earlier due to the noise of the shower. A tempest in a teapot.

Although I bought a little candy I except no ghoulies or ghosties. Almost nobody comes on Halloween. The neighboring kids go to other areas or go our town's "Trunk or Treat." Many of them visit the nearby merchants.

I believe our type of suburban neighborhood is no less safe than when my kids were young. We allowed our kids much more freedom. They were free to go out into the neighborhood every day to pick up friends for all kinds of spur of the moment activities. Now all social activities are prearranged. If the kids venture out no kids are available.This seems an abundance of caution. I believe this caution is very limiting. Studies show there is no more danger today than before. although parents are so much more afraid.

CrossEyedDave said...

I Have not finished the puzzle yet,
but had to take a break from the current madness
to refresh...

My house is being painted,
Spent yest removing carpet & under mats
&taking them to the local recycling center.
Spent this AM trying to remove all the staples
& carpet wood tack strips.

Never thought I would have to endure hanging curtains with DW again,
but there is an upside....

Daughter #2, whom has been particularly grouchy lately,
had the most wonderful smile on her face watching me get yelled
at for my curtain hanging bungling...
(it's those poofy thingies with rolled up newspaper in them, what a pain!)

Oh well, rest break over,
on to hanging pictures....

(my least favorite activity in the world....)

P.S. from yest:

Use the Internet wisely...


Blogger Magilla Go-Rilla said...
Your "hose holder" picture took us into a porn site. Shame, shame!��

October 29, 2016 at 10:10 AM

We linkers just look at thumbnails from other sites,
you Google a pic, & a thousand come up...
we don't usually investigate the actual sites where they came from.

I am sure Splynter never even knew where that lovely pic came from.

The main thing is:

"Don't click on the pic."

(& if you do...")

Exit immediately before clicking on anything else lest you pickup something nasty!

Spitzboov said...

Hello, everyone.

Timely theme today. Eventually got it all without searches. No other significant comments.
ILLER - She was iller than a dog.
SYSTOLE - Its adjective refers to the high number of your blood pressure reading. My doctor uses a mercury manometer vs the pressure dial found on a lot of cuffs.
JUBILEE - Thanks for the S.O., C.C.
TEA ROOM - Still fondly remember having high tea at the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa a few times.
SHAY - Also a name for a type of geared steam locomotive. Found use in hilly country and in lumber camps of the west. Wiki says about 100 survive.

Have a great day.

Abejo said...

Good afternoon, folks. Thank you, Joe Schewe, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, C.C., for a fine review.

Worked this puzzle on the train coming back from Erie, where I spent Saturday night at my Lodge's 150th Anniversary dinner and celebration. After the event I stopped at a bar on State St in Erie and watched the entire Cubs game, with a few brewskis. Cubs lost. Now they have to win the next three in a row. We'll see.

I liked the theme, Hallowe'en. Great Clues and Words.

C.C.: To me 98A NECKTARINE has to do with where a vampire bites, on the neck. And 102A has to do with a werewolf howling. Or maybe I did not understand your comments.

I also tried POD before perps gave me GAM.

Liked your pomegranate comments. I love those. We called them Anar where I learned to eat them.

Not sure I know what a slippery ELM is.

Have to leave for now. Going to the Annual Meeting of Simon Peter Tabernacle XXII.

Abejo

( )


Bill G. said...

Hi everybody. I haven't had much to say lately. Everybody else covers the puzzling commentary better and earlier than I would.

I saw my local homeless guy yesterday. I felt good to be able to contribute a little money to his existence again. I was also happy to contribute to Wikipedia. I refer to them several times a week.

Since I stopped growing my own tomatoes in a community garden years ago, I have enjoyed ones from a local Farmer's Market almost as much. Not this year though. They aren't much better than the crappy supermarket ones.

Barbara is doing OK. She goes for chemo once a week. She is often nauseated and seldom has an appetite. Geez, I hope all of this resolves itself in a favorable way soon...

Best wishes for you all.

Unknown said...

You're so Vain.

Unknown said...

Full title: El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don
Quixote de la Manchester.

Unknown said...

Mancha autocorrect

Argyle said...

"Don Quixote de la Manchester", now that's funny.

Wilbur Charles said...

The Cubs will live another day. How can a professional pitcher not be able to throw to first? I guess it's like the bballers who can't shoot a free throw.

Liked all the poems today. And the xword was just right since I'm in a funk from my FIW on Fri. I'll try to get to Sat tomorrow. Always good when CC drops by

As I posted in the ether, IDI killed me.

The SE had me until I attached WOOD to HOWLLY. And, Espo was ORR's teammate. We must have our major and minor gods in Boston.

As in: Yaz was Ted's successor, not vv

WC

Picard said...

Hand up for getting stuck in the NW with TRA la la.

Did anyone else get stuck parsing STAKES AND ???

Hand up for OUT OF this world.

The SETI clue bugs me, too. And it indeed would be easy to correct this.

As for THOMAS English Muffins... Is there any part of the country without this brand? I am OK with brand names (like Cheerios) as long as they are found everywhere in the US. Never heard of Bays. That may be regional!

Anonymous said...

Concerning 36 down: SETI is NOT a UFO tracking organization.