A Spooktacular Halloween!
Bruce Haight has given us a Frightening puzzle for this Halloween.
24. Sci-fi character trying to creep it real?: MISTER SPOOK. Mr. Spock's evil twin.
35. Comedian who says no body's perfect?: RED SKELETON. As in Red Skelton (né Richard Skelton; July 18, 1913 ~ Sept. 17, 1997). He had lots of amusing characters in his repertoire. When I was a kid, I thought his surname really was Skeleton.
49. Pop group whose music is in en-crypted files?: SPICE GHOULS. Kin to the Beastie Boys. Very appropriate since one of the members was known as Scary Spice.
58. Actor who frights for every part?: SCARY GRANT. As in Cary Grant (né Archibald Alec Leach; Jan. 18, 1904 ~ Nov. 29, 1986).
What other scary things appeared in today's puzzle?
From ghoulies and ghosties
And long-leggedy beasties
And things that go bump in the night,
Good Lord, deliver us!
~ Scottish Poem
17. Actor who's anxious to get the Halloween party startled?: BOO BRIDGES. Long lost brother of Beau Bridges (né Lloyd Vernet Bridges, III; b. Dec. 9, 1941).
And the unifier:
42. Like this puzzle's theme?: HAUNTED.
What other scary things appeared in today's puzzle?
Across:
1. Story with many chapters: SAGA. I can really get lost in a good Saga.
5. Hoops gp. since 1996: WNBA. As in the Women's National Basketball Association.
9. Colorado tribe: UTEs.
13. Curved fastener: U-BOLT. Not to be confused with Usain Bolt.
15. Remote batteries: AAAs.
16. Former Persian ruler: SHAH. The last Shah was Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (Oct. 26, 1919 ~ July 27, 1980). He was shah from September 1941 until he was overthrown by the Iranian Revolution in February 1979.
19. Only: MERE. I initially tried Sole.
20. Man __: trendy hairstyle: BUN.
21. Neighborhood: AREA.
22. Sonnet line fivesome: IAMBI.
23. Communications co. with a blue-and-white globe logo: ATT.
27. Bends to retie laces, say: STOOPS. Or a place to sit.
29. Velvet-voiced Tormé: MEL. As in the singer Mel Tormé (Sept. 13, 1925 ~ June 5, 1999). I remember him from being the hero of the Honorable Judge Harry T. Stone from the sit-com, Night Court.
30. Air rifle ammo: BBs.
31. One might put stock in it: SOUP. How to make a Soup Stock.
32. Small keyboard: SPINET. It doesn't look so small to me.
39. Zero: NOT ONE. The perps gave me this answer, which I initially parsed as NO TONE.
40. Composer who was a CBS reporter: TESH. As in John TESH (né John Frank Tesh; b. July 9, 1952). I think he was more of an entertainment reporter, not a news reporter.
43. Medium ability: ESP. As in ExtraSensory Perception.
46. __ de deux: PAS. A ballet dance for two people, generally a man and a woman and a Red Sox player.
47. Everycity, USA: PEORIA. But does it play in Peoria?
53. __ shot: FLU. I got my Flu shot. Did you get yours?
54. Pear centers: CORES.
55. __ B'rith: B'NAI. B'nai B'rith is a Hebrew phrase that means "Children of the Covenant". Founded in 1843, B'nai B'rith is the oldest Jewish service organization the world.
56. Former Fed chair Bernanke: BEN. As in Ben Bernanke (né Ben Shalom Bernanke; b. Dec. 13, 1953). He served as the 14th Chairman of the Federal Reserve from February 2006 through January 2014.
57. Just barely: A TAD.
61. Show impatience, in a way: PACE.
62. Opposite of away: HOME.
63. Actor Nick: NOLTE. As in Nick Nolte (né Nicholas King Nolte; b. Feb. 8, 1941).
64. Ice cream brand: EDY'S. This brand of ice cream makes frequent appearances in the crossword puzzles.
65. Messy stack: HEAP.
66. Ran, as dye: BLED.
Down:
1. Speaker for low sounds: SUB-BASS.
2. Momentarily will, after "is": ABOUT TO. As in the sentence: Dinner is About To be served.
3. Travel with the band: GO ON TOUR. Thank you, perps. This is another one I tried to parse incorrectly. I initially looked at it as Goon Tour. Well, that fits with today's scary theme!
4. Greece neighbor: Abbr.: ALB. As in Albania, the country to the west of Greece.
5. Gets one's feet wet: WADES.
6. Bedevil: NAG AT.
7. Sweetie, in slang: BAE. We've had discussions of this puzzle word in the recent past.
8. Donkey: ASS.
9. 50states.com graphic, for short: US MAP. As in a Map of the United States. If you had a map of the US without the States identified, could you place all the States in their correct location?
10. Crime film group: THE MOB.
11. Dangling jewelry: EARBOB. I think of this as being an old-fashioned word. I remember reading about Earbobs in Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott.
12. Mideast chieftains: SHEIKS.
14. Pooch who shared spaghetti with Lady: TRAMP. A reference to the Disney animated movie Lady and the Tramp.
18. Crocus kin: IRIS.
22. Florida key, e.g.: ISLET.
25. Novelist Zola: ÉMILE. Émile Zola (Apr. 2, 1940 ~ Sept. 29, 1902) is best known for his role in the Dreyfus Affair, in which Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish officer in the French army, was wrongfully accused of revealing military secrets solely because he was Jewish. Zola wrote a letter that was published in the Paris newspaper accusing high ranking army officials of anti-Semitism. Dreyfus was ultimately exonerated. Dreyfus Affair.
26. Russo who plays Frigga in "Thor" films: RENE. As in actress Rene Russo (née Rene Marie Russo; b. Feb. 17, 1954). She began her career as a fashion model.
28. Uncork, say: OPEN.
32. Smidge: SKOSH. A fun word.
33. Fenced-in area: PEN.
34. "Africa" band: TOTO. You know you've heard this song.
36. Chowderheads: DOPES.
37. Dudes-only: STAG.
38. Spongy toy: NERF BALL. You can get one for all sorts of sports.
41. Matte finish?: SILENT E. Not keen on this type of cluing.
43. Way out: ESCAPE. Another appropriate word for Halloween. This reminded me of Harry Houdini (né Erik Weiss; Mar. 24, 1874 ~ Oct. 31, 1926), the great ESCAPE artist. Sadly, he died on Halloween.
44. Brief TV plug: SPOT AD.
45. Kidd stuff: PIRACY. Think of Captain Kidd, the pirate, not the USS Kidd, which is now housed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
47. Remote button: PLAY.
48. Complete, as a PDF contract: E-SIGN.
50. Gives over (to): CEDES.
51. Michelle Robinson's married name: OBAMA. As in the former First Lady, Michelle Obama (b. Jan. 17, 1964).
52. Gen. Assembly member: UN REP. As in a Representative in the United Nations.
58. "Lower your voice!": SHH! Don't awaken all the Ghouls tonight!
59. Country singer David Allan __: COE. I am not up in my country music, so was not familiar with David Allan Coe (b. Sept. 6, 1939).
60. Steal from: ROB.
This puzzle was a real Treat.
Here's the Grid:
Here's the Grid:
57 comments:
This is the SAGA of the BOOB and the U-BOLT.
The battle their feud led to was one of note!
Yada, yada, yada for the one nut,
Blah, blah for the one with two nuts.
Don't cry for the Boob, he still won the vote!
BEN was ABOUT TO GO ON TOUR,
He left a note pinned to his door.
"Gone to get triple AAAs for toys,
And BBs for PIRATICAL joys,
In case this trip tuns into a bore!"
There once was a girl from PEORIA
Who said to her beaus, " I want more of ya!
I've got room on my SPINET
For a pic with us both in it.
Even though, I personally abhor ya!
{b+, B, B+.)
Greetings!
Thanks to Bruce and Hahtoolah! A few unknowns, but finished without cheating. They were: BUN, IAMBI, EARBOB and TOTO.
That ain't no SPINET, it's a GRAND! Ugly hairdo, IMHO.
Have a great day!
Hi Y'all! Thanks, Bruce, for the cute Halloween puns. Enjoyed it. Thanks, Hahtoolah, for more fun.
Caught the the theme with the first two which helped on the rest.
For the comedian who says nobody's perfect, I thought of Joe E. Brown with that as the last line in "Some Like It Hot", but his name didn't fit. After that, I was at a loss until the perps made it apparent it was good ol' Red.
DNK: David Allen COE, TOTO.
My young man neighbor gave me my Halloween scare yesterday, saying the old lady who lived next door to him on the other side was found dead there last week. She'd been dead for some time. This was the same old gal who went missing about a year ago and got the neighborhood stirred up until the cops found her in a nursing home. She had no family. Social services were supposedly taking care of her. Don't know what happens with her house, etc.
Good morning and Happy Halloween!
Needed my trusty Wite-Out to fix IAMBs and UNamb -- it was a bad day for the "amb" crowd. Otherwise, this was a smooth, enjoyable slide to the bottom. Thanx, Bruce and Hahtoolah. (I knew it was you right away. Great photo for pas de deux!)
FLU shot: Yup, got mine several weeks ago at the same time as my second Shingrix shot. No sore arm.
US MAP: Yup, I'm sure I could identify every state on a no-name map. I learned to recite the states and the state capitals alphabetically. I can still say them. Here's a hilarious (appalling?) Jimmy Kimmel clip from this summer testing folks to name a country (any country) on a no-name world map.
SUB BASS: I'd call it a subwoofer. I've got two of 'em. One is attached to the music system in my office and the other is attached to the home theater "box."
ALB: Albania. Remember the war with Albania in Wag The Dog? The war was produced by Dustin Hoffman, complete with a musical theme by Willie Nelson.
COE: David Allen COE is probably best known for this little ditty -- arguably the greatest country song ever made.
Most SPINETS I’ve seen were shortened uprights, but the one in the picture seems to have only five octaves, so it probably qualifies
FIR, but erased lines for IAMBI and amy GRANT to make room for SCARY GRANT.
Any Corner ladies think that man BUNs (hair, not glutes) are attractive?
Where I come from, we are "fixin' to", not ABOUT TO.
It is so cute when us old farts try to show we are with it by using terms such as BAE.
I just watched the remake of The Thomas Crown Affair yesterday. I saw A LOT of RENE Russo. One of the rare movies where the remake was as good as the original.
I love the Florida Keys, especially Marathon, Big Pine and Sugarloaf. Just outside of Big Pine is No Name Key. The No Name Pub was once a final stop for fishermen going to sea, and the first stop on their return. Many would leave a dollar bill on the way out to ensure they would have enough money to buy a drink when they returned, and the bill was signed and stapled to the wall. In modern times the tradition has continued, with tourists writing their names on their bills and stapling them to the walls and now the ceiling. There are dollar bills everywhere - nary a bare spot. The pizza is great there, too.
Thanks to Bruce Haight for the fun Halloween puzzle. And thanks to Hatoolah for the explanation.
Thanks Hahtoolah! Great write-up! The only theme clue of mine that Rich changed was for SCARY GRANT, where I had "movie star keeping in shape by exorcising?". I guess Rich felt that was a little too...something! Anyway, Happy Halloween to all, and if you get a chance try my other Halloween-themed puzzle today at the NYT.
Good Morning:
It was fun to have a Halloween-themed puzzle, especially one that included two of my favorite actors. Cary Grant is my number one and has been since I was very, very young. Nick Nolte, OTOH, stole my heart as Tom Wingo in "The Prince of Tides" but, after that outstanding portrayal, he kind of messed up in real life. My unknowns were Toto, Earbob, and Coe. (Sorry, DO, I've never hear of Mr. Coe or his greatest country song of all time.) I had Emeers before Sheiks but Shah set me straight.
Thanks, Bruce, for some tricks and treats and thanks, Hatoolah, for guiding us along.
PK @ 5:34 ~ I remember your telling us about that woman's disappearance and eventual return. How sad to die alone and have no one know about it for days. (Looks like you and Mr. Sandman are battling it out again. 🙃)
Have a great day.
One can always expect a puzzle like this on Halloween. After BOO and SPOOK I knew it was a replacement with "O"- wrong. RED SKELETON blew that theory. And yes Hahtoolah, I also thought his real name was SKELETON.
A mis-fill in the SW slowed my completion this morning. I filled EGRESS instead of ESCAPE, which forced me to grind it out. In the NE I was thinking EMEERS & OTOE but THE MOB disallowed those two, so UTES (My Cousin Vinny) and SHEIKS easily fell into place.
Man BUN- you don't see many these days. That fad is over.
BAE-ugh, but it fits.
A rare one today. No unknowns.
Very cute 'n' clever NYT, Bruce. But VALETED? Really?
Musings
-Face it, Gary, BAE and ELHI aren’t going away. :(
-Great write-up Hahtoolah, especially the PAS de deux
-THE SPICE GIRLS were formed as a result of auditioning by answering an advert, just like the Monkees
-SCARY self-reference
-Some Iranians miss the days of the SHAH
-James Dobson – “No one stands so tall as when they STOOP to help a child”
-MEL was also Kramer’s hero on Seinfeld
-I’ll bet you’ve heard/felt SUB BASS output at a stop light
-Place USA states on a MAP? You bet! On an African MAP? Maybe 10
-In Tin Cup and Just Getting Started (worst movie I ever saw). RENE played a beautiful, smart woman who fell in love with a DOPE
-Arrrrgggghhh! SILENT E not SILENTE which I didn’t know
-Last week 11th graders where I sub were reading The Devil and Tom Walker which features Captain Kidd’s treasure
-We’ve got 240 bags of candy ready to go for tonight but should be out by 8:00 pm
Good morning everyone.
Nice change of pace to sort out the haunted puns.
Thanks Hahtoolah for including the picture of the USS Kidd. BH and I toured it in August of 2000 at a Navy reunion in Baton Rouge. She even climbed down and up the steep ladder into the forward engine room so we could visit Main Control.
It is a Fletcher Class which saw extensive service in WWII, and the same class on which I served. Alas, the Kidd is one of only 4 which survive; the others having long ago gone to the breakers or used for target practice. (The Cassin Young is at Boston near the Constitution, and The Sullivans is at the Naval Park in Buffalo. The 4th is in Greece.)
Halloween Limerick:
At the brothel they're given to schtick;
There's a hooker who's offer is slick:
"Come see me, Halloween,
There's no difference between
Giving treats, while I'm turning a trick."
������
Thank you Bruce and thank you Hahtoolah.
Appropriate puzzle for today. Enjoyed revealing the puns.
Hand up for sole before MERE.
Tried egress before ESCAPE.
Man BUN - Florida Gator / Chicago Bull Joakim Noah helped popularize the man bun.
Desper-otto, you beat me to "You Never Even Called Me By My Name." David Allen Coe also wrote "Take This Job and Shove It" that was made famous by Johnny Paycheck.
Well stocked with various types of chocolate candy bars for Halloween. Snickers, Milky Way, Three Musketeers, Reeses Cups. I heard that dentists prefer the chocolates rather than the hard candies and the sticky candies. I think I'd better go try one of those Snickers bars. They may be too sticky to hand out.
Well this was just Halloween fun! Thanks for all the smiles Bruce and the clever blog Hatoolah! I enjoyed the Coe song you linked D-O - especially the added last stanza at the end!
Not a fan of the man bun - they look like Sumo wrestlers to me.
I do listen to John Tesh's syndicated radio show in the evenings sometimes if I'm driving home after 6. - "Intelligence for Your Life"-has pop, easy listening music with fun and interesting anecdotes. He doesn't look like the pic posted in the blog anymore. It shows in the evening here, but during the day in many parts of the country.
http://www.kpla.com/shows/john-tesh/
If you want some more Halloween amusement - this Sporcle quiz published yesterday will bring back a lot of fun clips of songs to celebrate from movies and TV
https://www.sporcle.com/games/needapausebutton/more-than-just-a-great-pumpkin
It rained overnight but hopefully everything will dry out for the kids for tonight!
This will go down as one of my favorite puzzles ever--many thanks, Bruce, and thanks for stopping by. I cracked up as soon as I got BOO BRIDGES, and then again when I got RED SKELETON. By the time of SCARY GRANT I was totally enchanted, and my only toughie was MISTER SPOOK. What fun! Perfect for Halloween and perfect for a Wednesday. And cool write-up, Hahtoolah. Loved watching those kids having problems identifying countries on the map. Thank goodness for that final smart little boy.
Well, we have our bag of Snickers ready for the kids tonight, but I doubt any of them will knock on our door. Our house is just too far from the main streets, and there aren't many kids on our circular street. But just in case, we can hand them out, and if not, they'll mess up my diet for a couple weeks to come.
Have a great Halloween, everybody!
Thank you, Bruce for the tricks and Hahtoolah, for the treats!
I love Cary Grant, Mel Torme and Red Skelton! What fun to find them repurposed in a Halloween puzzle!
Yes, I had my FLU shot several weeks ago. And I'm sure I can name all the U.S. states in their proper place. My goal is to visit all 50 and am almost there. On a large map I put those magnetic state shapes every time I visit one.
One of my friends often uses the word SKOSH.
Have a BOO-tiful day, everyone! NOT ONE person comes around for treats so I don't buy any.
I liked this puzzle and the theme. Well done. I also liked your write-up, Hahtoolah. It shows your sense of humor. Thank you both.
Hand up for thinking Red's last name really was SKELETON. I remember a comic book entitled simply Red Skelton with a picture of him making a funny scrunched-up face on its cover; I actually thought it was a horror comic book "The Red Skeleton!" I don't remember how I got hold of it but I do remember that I didn't understand it at all when I read it.
I also remember declaring the the perfect life would be to have an unlimited supply of records to listen to, popcorn to eat, and comic books to read. I think my favorite comic book superhero then was Captain Marvel. My favorite superhero now is Batman, but back then I was too stupid, er, I mean young, to appreciate Batman.
Best wishes and Halloween greetings to you all.
Wednesday workout today. Thanks for the fun, Bruce (thanks for dropping by) and Hahtoolah.
I found this CW difficult and required some Google help and P&P to finish. I did get the HAUNTED Halloween theme.
Hand up for Emeers before SHEIKS, Sole before ONLY, Egress before ESCAPE, and not parsing SILENTE (lightbulb moment when I got here!)
Learning moment that crocus are part of the IRIS family.
This Canadian did not know the ATT logo or the 50states.com graphic (although I could guess). You know my answer to the "could you place all the states on an unmarked map" question. I might get a dozen of them right. (I suspect many of you could not get all the Canadian provinces correct, let alone the Territories).
Can somebody explain how PEORIA is Everycity, USA. Google does not help me here.
BEN Bernanke, and Michelle's maiden name were not in my mind either.
COE was unknown as was TOTO (I would have recognized a Wizard of Oz clue).
NAG AT seems mild for bedevil; I think of torment or greatly trouble. OK maybe some nagging seems that bad!
My band with GOin ON A GIG before TOUR.
I have never used or heard anyone use the word SKOSH.
PK, how sad about your neighbour.
Yes, DH and I have had our FLU shot.
It looks like we will have rain tonight and most of the neighbourhood kids have grown up. I will only need a few chocolate bars. (I always pick something we like so we can enjoy the leftovers.)
Enjoy the day.
@CanadianEh!: Will it play in Peoria? is a figure of speech that is traditionally used to ask whether a given product, person, promotional theme, or event will appeal to mainstream America, or across a broad range of demographic and psychographic groups. Wikipedia
PS: I think I could get most of the Canadian Provinces and Territories, though I might mess up in the Maritimes. The only one I've visited up that way is Nova Scotia.
What an entertaining spooky puzzle! Speaking of spooky, Mister Spook held me up a little in the NE. It didn't help that I had EMEERS instead of SHEIKS. I got ear bob quickly, thanks to novels I have read. Silent E caused another stutter step. That type of clue always slows me down a bit.
My brother used to say Red Skeleton.
That spinet Hatoolah pictured was a harpsichord spinet. I think the piano spinet is more common. We had one years ago.
Sunday I took Alan to a bowl-a-thon sponsored by his workshop. He dressed as a woman and stayed for lunch but left soon afterward. He didn't want to bowl, but was very glad he went.He is more comfortable in smaller groups.
The waitresses in our coffee shop usually wear costumes for Halloween. Alan decided to reprise his costume when we went there this morning. Our coffee shop has a kind of Cheers ambience where everybody knows your name. They all had a good laugh and the owner gave Alan a $20 gift certificate. He is well liked there.
Most years no one stops by here for trick or treat. Last year we had about a dozen visitors. It is hard to know how much candy to buy. Neither Alan nor I should eat many sweets. I will have to take the leftovers to our square dance.
Limerick Larry, good one.
Happy Halloween.
Hahtoolah: Good job on the write-up.
Bruce: Thank you for a FUN Halloween themed puzzle.
I have NEVER had a "Flu shot" ... nor the flu for the last 20+ years.
Look forward to handing out candy tonight at Villa Incognito.
Cheers!
Hello, my Crossword Friends. I had a lot of fun with this puzzle. Thank you, Bruce for stopping by. Always nice to "see" the constructor.
SCARY GRANT was slow to come to me, too, Jinx, as I had Amy Grant stuck in my head.
Glad you got to visit the USS Kidd, Spitzboov. I guess it ended up in Baton Rouge because of a push from a Congressman from the city. Baton Rouge.
PK: So sad about your neighbor. Too bad she didn't have someone out there to call her every day just to say "Hi!" That way if she didn't answer, someone could check up on her.
QOD: A tough lesson in life that one has to learn is that not everyone wishes you well. ~ Dan Rather (né Dan Irvin Rather, Jr.; b. Oct. 31, 1931)
When I was quite young and had just gotten a tiny new kitten, I wrote to my older brother for a name that meant little. He was in the Army, in Korea, and spent some R and R in Japan, so I wanted him to give me a Japanese name for the kitten. He wrote back that I should name it Sukoshi, which I did. Later found out that it meant "a little bit", rather than "small", but it still fit.
A lot of GI's seem to have picked up on that word and shortened it to "skosh"; it was pretty popular in the U.S. for awhile, but I haven't heard it myself in years.
Fun puzzle! Love play on word themes!
PK:
That is so sad about your neighbor, not only to be found dead after many days, but to have died alone. May she rest in peace.
Canadian Eh!
You're right. I would be able to name some of the provinces as I've been to BC and New Foundland but the others would be challenging.
Why is Peoria the answer of every city USA? I don’t get it.
Ta ~ DA!
Happy Halloween, everybody!
Thanks for the cute spectral-name theme, Mr. Haight - and for your contribution, Hahtoolah.
When I was a kid, Red Skelton was our favorite comic - and we all thought we were clever & precociously original in calling him Red SKELETON.
SPICE GHOULS was my fave fill.
I got my FLU shot Friday. I feel well armed. Bring it on!
~ OMK
__________
DR: A 3-way on the mirror side. The main line has so many vowels, it's impossible to milk it for a decent anagram. Except maybe, given the nature of today's holiday...
Could it have been meant to be one long scream?
See for yourself; here it is:
"AAAAAIOEEEEEE!"
IM, CanadianEh, Hahtoolah, & Lucina: Yes it is very sad about my neighbor. She gave me her phone number several years ago, but when I tried to call her, it was never in service. A little bus came every day and took her to the senior center for lunch, so I thought she was on their radar. I think she must have been dead quite a bit longer than a few days. Really, spooks me -- several things the guy told me about the scene. He's 22 or 23 and I think he was spooked worse than I am since he entered the house with the further neighbor. But no foul play. The postal worker who sounded the alarm last time, didn't get excited this time and just held her mail. I just happened to ask the young man if he'd ever met her or I probably wouldn't have been told.
Jayce, me too. Shazam good buddy!
@Eileen Zhang, see my 12:35 post regarding Peoria.
As D-O said at 12:35, Peoria Illinois is a small city nearly in the middle of the US, without unusually large numbers of minorities, so is regarded as a “typical” city. “Will it play in Peoria?” is a metaphor that may have come from show business, meaning - is a show’s theme or humor too sophisticated to be popular outside the big cities? The alliteration may have helped. The phrase later was used by Nixon’s and others’ political consultants to represent the great center of the country
Very happy to have a Halloween theme on Halloween! Very amusing and fun!
Hahtoolah thanks for all of the illustrations! I especially enjoyed the Red Sox PAS illustration!
Hahtoolah, Jayce and Big EasyHand up I thought his name really was SKELETON, too, when I was a kid! I remember asking my mother and she did not understand my question.
I never heard of RENE. I thought RENEE is the female name and RENE is the male name. In any case she is beautiful! COE unknown. Only know MEL from these puzzles. And EDY'S is my perpetual gripe as it is a regional brand name. But I remember it now!
IAMBI/EAR BOB was my last fill as it seemed dubious. Glad to FIR!
Last night we had "A Night of Solidarity" at our Congregation B'NAI B'RITH. An unbelievably huge turnout in solidarity with the victims and survivors at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburg. And of the many other recent hate crimes.
Here are my videos and photos at the B'NAI B'RITH event last night.
Such a big turnout for our small city! I have submitted a story and hope it will be published soon. Stand by for that!
There was a Star Trek episode "Mirror, Mirror" of a parallel universe with an actual Evil MISTER SPOCK!
Here someone has kindly done a side by side comparison of MISTER SPOCK and MISTER SPOOK!
PK Sad to hear about your neighbor dying alone that way. This happened in the first building I lived in here, but the woman was dead for over a month. They had to completely refurbish that unit.
From yesterday:
Yellowrocks glad you enjoyed the relevant quote about INTEL! I used to say "You can have it right or you can have it Tuesday" about INTEL but that quote is better!
AnonT no, the only hazy memory I have of ALTON was as fill in another puzzle. I don't think I have ever watched a cooking show on TV.
No hands up here.
To clarify, my neighborhood kid-gang seems to have been wiser than yours, Jayce - and yours, Big Easy. I don't know how it came to be that we were so much more sophisticated, but we actually knew his name was properly "Skelton."
We loved his routines, like "Clem Kaddiddlehopper," "Freddie the Freeloader," and most especially his "Mean Widdle Kid."
"Wah. I scared me widdle self...."
It was only our wonderfully inventive senses of humor that led us to warp his name to SKELETON.
We thought we were just the freshest, sharpest wordplay geniuses to come up with that one...
On our modern Halloween:
Sadly, we don't get many trick-or-treaters.
In some years we didn't get any. So now we don't plan for them, but must remember to turn off our lights - in case a stray should think to hit us up.
~ OMK
Our neighborhood isn't conducive to trick-or-treating; the houses are too far apart. It just isn't efficient. We seldom see anybody. There's a new develop of mcmansions a couple of miles away where the houses are right next to each other. I swear that if they opened their windows they could pass platters back and forth dining room to dining room. Weather here is supposed to be nasty tonight. Otherwise, I'd bet that neighborhood would be bustling with activity.
This went by quickly. Two markovers, IAMBS b4 IAMBI and PIRATE b4 PIRACY and that was it. Nice Halloween puzzle.
Who remembers Hill Street Blues? What was Sgt. Phil Esterhaus's middle name?
Bill G: Sgt Phil Freemason Esterhaus
YR, thanks for letting us know about the winning streak Alan is on. It helps to read some good news occasionally.
Tin, I suspect your good DNA and adequate BAC chase the bad stuff away. DW and I got the shot last week. Some places had run out of the high-dose vials needed for us seniors, but Walgreen's got a couple of boxes in the day after we first tried to get shot.
D-O, I have loved that COE tune for 30 years, but I didn't know the musician. It was a staple at a Hermosa Beach (CA) Strand bar I once frequented, a hip little place named The Poop Deck. I also learned a catchy bit of verse from a plaque on their wall: "Time flies like a silver-tipped arrow; fruit flies like stale beer".
Never saw Red Skelton because he was not on NBC, the only channel we were able to receive. Also couldn't tune in to Wide World of Sports to see the agony of defeat without visiting a pal and his four-channel cable connection.
Jinx, I've been by the Poop Deck on my bike rides many times; I even went in once or twice. I think they removed the word 'Poop' and now it's just called The Deck. Too bad...
Bruce Haight, thanks for dropping by and thanks, again, for the tricks and treats of your puzzle.
I don't buy any candy because I don't get any trick or treaters, as my house is off the beaten path. One of my sisters, though, gets well over 100 ghosts and goblins!
Completely off topic, do any of you have an Instant Pot? I'm not too familiar with its capabilities and I am wondering if it would be practical for cooking for just me.
My lunch date yesterday was a fiasco. I was sure I knew where the restaurant was but I was woefully wrong. I spent 45 minutes driving on back roads, desolate country roads, not even knowing where I was and I was so upset and frustrated that I just turned around and came back home. I called the restaurant and was able to explain to my friend why I wasn't there. She dropped by on her way home and had a little gift for me that she couldn't resist buying. It was a dish towel that read "All you need is Love and a Bichon" over a picture of a beautiful Bichon. I was really touched. (It was the first time I regretted not having a cell phone, not to mention a sense of direction.)
IM, that's why I keep a flip-phone in my truck. Costs me $100/year to keep it alive, but I only use it to make emergency calls (or to call M-o-W clients who don't answer their door). That $100 seems really extravagant until you really need a phone.
I love my old fashioned flip style cell.I do not need the computing power of a smart phone everywhere I go, but I do need cell service
I am frustrated playing phone tag with many important people and my cell phone in my pocket solves that problem. I can keep in touch with Alan, I can call for help, I can deal with lost square dancers, late callers etc.
I M, so sorry you missed your lunch. The dish towel gift was thoughtful.
Sandyanon @ 12:50. You're right -- "skosh" is right up there with 'Fletcher-class' in dating us. My kids don't know it ... they just have other slang to mystify us.
When my kids were young we lived in a housing development. For trick or treat the kids would collect bags and bags of candy, more than they could eat. They would bring the bags home and go out again. The parents would recycle the candy to other kids.
When I was young we only visited friends of the family and actually sat down to visit. Then we would get a treat. We only went to a few places.
Now we are back to much fewer kids coming. We have only had 7 so far, just kids we actually know. I think parties and trunk or treat cuts down on how many come.
I think I've turned blue?
Sandy, yes, blue indeed. Welcome to another left coaster. Thanks for filling out a resume. I wish everybody would.
Bill G, thanks for the heads up on the Poop Deck. Looks like the bar that we knew died about four years ago. I found a fun retrospective.
I met Butch Patrick, AKA Little Eddie Munster, there. My housemate's sister was dating him, and he introduced us. Butch was engrossed in a pinball game and I got the impression that he thought I was just a fan. (The Munsters wasn't on NBC, so I had never seen the show but knew of it.) But maybe he just wasn't fond of his girlfriend's brother.
In that same era (late 70s), Levis marketed a line of jeans having "a skoch more room" as Baby Boomers expanded in purchasing power (and girth).
Jinx, that was a fun retrospective of simpler times. I remember reading that article when it first came out in The Easy Reader.
Sandyanon, Welcome to Blue ! You did it !
Well, that's about it for Halloween here. Loved, loved, loved seeing the little ones charging up to the door to collect their bounty. So cute !!!!
44 children stopped by, and at least another 21 never made it across the street. Going to have to do a better job of decorating next year. We had the big orange plastic pumpkin lit up in the bay window, and all the outside lights on, but some parents only got as far as our corner, and then did a u-turn and walked their children back down the other side of the street from whence they came.
Each of the children got a good haul here. We had too many bags of candy. We bought the snack size rather than the smaller fun size, and each child got at least two bars. Hope their parents moderate their take over time. We still have four unopened bags that will need to be returned. AS IF !
I'm pretty sure my neighbor did his annual trick again. Puts an empty bowl on his front porch, with a note asking the kids to take only one each. Then acts indignant. Always says that some kids took everything in the bowl. Oh well. Not every one enjoys this holiday as much as we do, and I get it. Just perturbs me that he uses the same old song and dance every year. Whatever !
Good evening, folks. Thank you, Bruce Haight, for a fine puzzle. thank you, Hahtoolah, for a fine review.
This puzzle was a little tough for me. I enjoyed the Halloween theme. Very Clever. Took me forever to get the SW corner. PIRACY was slow in coming. Did not figure out Captain Kidd for quite a while. SPOT AD was also slow in coming. As was SPICE GHOULS. tried EKED for 57A. That messed me up as well. A TAD came later. EDYS was easy. Got that right off the bat.
A man I revere, the SHAH, is back with us. At least in a positive context this time.
Anyhow. Just got home from the Polls. Now time to eat a bite. see you tomorrow.
Abejo
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Hi All!
A puzzle in the spirit of the Season. Thanks Bruce and thanks for stopping by The Corner.
Thanks Hahtoolah for an expo chock-full of illustrations.
The swath from the NW though the mirror-side diagonal took less than 5 minutes to fill and then things slowed way down. I don't know if it was because I had arrived at work or I just fell off Bruce's wave-length. Got 'er done though.
WOs: NA
ESPs: SPINET, COE, BNAI, EARBOB(?), only the S in SILENT-E was WAG'd; got me again on that
Fav: SKOSH is a fun word but MISTER SPOCK edges it out.
{B, B, B+}
PK - that is so sad about your neighbor and the guy that found her; you can't un-see that...
IM - A smart-phone woulda had a map. Nice of your fried to drop by and what a fitting gift.
No FLU shot yet for me but I think DW brought this years strain home from China. She was sick when she got home and now I am too. I joke she is patient-0 for this year's FLU :-)
//Dr. said bronchitis today - DW's on the (prescribed) 'roids now.
D-O: I've seen the Kimmel test and, while that kid would probably still beat me, I'd get close. Same with a US MAP [NE is too dense*] and the Provinces Quebec & west; only Nunavut is new-to-me [I looked it up and learnt the difference between Province and Territory. C, Eh, that, I didn't know.
I felt bad for the early Trick-or-Treaters tonight; Youngest was out watching a move, DW was at work, and I was stuck on the freeway for 1.5h. Anyone who came by before 6:30p was out of luck. We've had about 2 dozen kids since.
To the theme: HAUNTington, NY
Cheers, -T
*The US MAP puzzle I had in my ute, had only 3 pieces for the NE :-)
TTP, is your neighbor trying to be funny or is he a Halloween scrooge or is he just a cheapskate?
Our daughter, grandson and new granddaughter just came by. She is about 1.5 years old and a real cutie. Just an unbiased opinion...
~ Mind how you go.
Story of my life—late to the party again. Just got home for the first time since 10 AM. Loooong day, but part of it was spent going "tricker treat"ing with the 3 grandchildren. Ages 5-1/2, 3-1/2, 1-1/2, they were Captain Hook, Peter Pan, and Tinker Bell respectively. Lots'o fun!
Thanks to Bruce and Hahtoolah; this was an excellent puzzle and really fun to do. WEES about nearly everything, except that I never thought it was Red Skeleton… somehow or other I knew Skelton from the get-go.
Sandyanon, thanks for the information about the basis for SKOSH. That’s a word I use occasionally and my baby brother uses a lot.
Jinx, you had a deprived childhood. When I was growing up we had two channels! One was strictly NBC and the other split its time between ABC and CBS. There were lots of shows that I never knew about.
CanadianEh, I can name all the provinces and territories. As an amateur radio operator, I have made contact with all of them except for Nunavut. I keep listening but I have never yet heard anyone on the air from there.
There’s just time for a nap before bedtime. Have a great… evening, all!
I grew up in northern Virginia near Washington D.C. We had four channels, ABC, CBS, NBC and WTTG, an independent station operated by Dumont.
We got our first TV about 1953 or so. Before that, we would sometimes walk across the street to my aunt's house and we would watch old westerns.
When we bought our first TV, if I got home early, I would watch the test pattern until they started their broadcasting. My favorite shows were Howdy Doody, Captain Video and Time for Beanie.
Whenever the TV would go on the fritz, we would call the friendly TV repair guy and he would come to our house and test all the tubes until he found the culprit. Nowadays, we just buy a new TV.
~ Mind how you go...
Bill G. Was your TV repair "man" Richard Feynman? I recall a story in "Surely You're Joking" about him showing up w/ a screwdriver in his back pocket as a ute and puttering around before fixing people's TVs.
Anyone here at the corner ever get the pleasure of meeting Dr. Feynman? I've only read books about him, his papers, and, of course, the lectures.
Cheers, -T
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