Another codger

[Click for a larger view.]

A codger of coots, on their way to audition for a remake of Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds. Alas, they were unable to execute the quick takeoffs needed for the part. (Or parts?) And during the audition, one of them couldn’t stop looking at the camera.

Codger is this blog’s collective name for coots. Old or young, they form a codger.

“Welcome in,” again

I first noticed it in a television commercial in June. And then I learned that it’s been a thing for some time. Not long after that, I heard it in a bookstore: “Welcome in!” I asked about it, explaining that I was interested in language, and the much-younger-than-me employee expressed surprise that people once said “Welcome,” no adverb needed. And then I heard it in a restaurant: “Welcome in!” (Thank you.)

And last week, I heard it in an Ace Hardware store in downstate Illinois. I’ll take that as a sign that “Welcome in!” has conquered the American-English-speaking world.

I checked to make sure: in is indeed an adverb there. As I said, “interested in language.”

NOW

[333 Mulberry Street, Little Italy, Manhattan, c. 1939–1941. From the NYC Municipal Archives Collections. Click for a much larger view.]

Today this address falls in Nolita. Ick. Let’s say northern Little Italy. The Shell station is gone (no surprise); Google Maps shows a sandwich shop and clothing store. And the clothing store appears to have or have had a Hummer on display. Farther forward, out of camera range, was and is the Broadway–Lafayette Street/Bleecker Street subway station.

I am regarding the enigmatic NOW as a message from one perilous time to another. NOW is the time for all good people to come to the aid of their endangered democracy and vote.

Related posts
More photographs from the NYC Municipal Archives (Pinboard)

Beetle Bailey imitates life

[Beetle Bailey , November 1, 2026. Click for a larger can.]

Do people really hide in garbage cans to shirk work? It happens.

[I have to read Beetle Bailey : Beetle is Lois Flagston’s brother.]

Halloween 2026

Halloween 2026: not one trick-or-treater. We had twenty in 2024, ten last year. (I counted.) So we’re left with Milky Ways, Jolly Ranchers, and close to 200 miniature Tootsie Rolls. It’s the last year for trick-or-treating at our house. You hear that, kids?

Perhaps it’s just as well that we didn’t have any visitors last night: Tootsie Rolls, as I discovered (too late), are an utterly vile candy. Either they’ve changed since I was a kid, or I have. We are tossing them, along with the Jolly Ranchers, and keeping the other candy whose first name ends in ē.

[The miniature Milky Ways are labeled “fun size.” But wouldn’t a regulation-size Milky Way be the real fun?]

Story.

[Click for a larger view.]

As found at the Library of Congress. The library reminds us, “This is a digitized catalog card, not an audio recording.”

I hope it’s a good night for trick-or-treating. Happy Halloween to all.

Today’s Saturday Stumper

Today’s Newsday  Saturday Stumper is by “Lester Ruff” — the puzzle’s editor, Stan Newman, offering an easier Saturday puzzle. I often find Les’s puzzles pretty Ruff, but this one is indeed easy. It’d be a good puzzle for anyone who wants to test the Stumper waters, say at the four-foot end of the pool.

Some clue-and-answer pairs of note:

1-A, eight letters, “Dessert with coffee.” A nice start, or finish.

1-D, seven letters, “’59 Eldorado claim to fame.” Must be seen to be believed.

8-D, fifteen letters, “New England attraction named by Washington.” Attraction might be slightly misdirective.

13-D, seven letters, “Kind of case.” Where’s mine? Oh, I know.

17-A, eight letters, “Takes for a trial.” My first thought was BETATEST — not something third-person singular.

23-A, five letters, “Canterbury pilgrim.” I haven’t thought of him in years.

30-D, four letters, “It might have to wait for a second.” Yikes, I’m back on a university committee.

36-D, seven letters, “Square structures.” Mildly Stumper-y.

42-D, three letters, “Signal officially replaced in 1992.” I learned something.

44-A, four letters, “Ken Burns topic.” Not one of his best efforts.

My favorite in this puzzle: 49-D, four letters, “Skip.”

No spoilers; the answers are in the comments.

*

Crossword Fiend has a discussion of 30-D, which crosses 41-A, five letters, “Distinctive aspect.” If you follow through to the comments, you’ll see that Evan Birnholz thinks that there was some sort of mix-up and that the puzzle’s answers for 30-D and 41-A are mistakes. I think he’s right (and that my answers are the intended ones).

Mystery actor

[Click for a larger view.]

Leave your guess(es) in the comments. I’ll drop a hint if one is needed.

*

No hint needed; the answer is now in the comments.

Related reading
All OCA mystery actor posts (Pinboard)

[Garner’s Modern English Usage notes that “support for actress seems to be eroding.” I use actor.]

Hi and Lois watch

[Hi and Lois , October 30, 2026. Click for a larger view.]

“Remember when the night before Halloween was ‘Mischief Night’?” Hi asks.

Credit where it’s due: the panel that follows Hi’s question is nicely done. The Waning Gibbous moon even fits today’s date.

Related reading
All OCA Hi and Lois posts (Pinboard)

Dan and Dan and Cornel and Elon

I think a ballot-stacking effort is a nasty thing, in Alaska or anywhere else. But for something far nastier, consider the Elon Musk effort to prop up Cornel West’s presidential ambitions. From Sludge (archived) , “Musk-Linked Dark Money Network Funded the Group Behind Cornel West’s Ballot Push”:

People Over Party raised $7.7 million in 2024, all of it from the nonprofit behind the Fair Election Fund, which in turn got every dollar from a Musk-funded dark money group.

Another reminder that a vote for Jill Stein or Cornel West or some other “progressive” third-party candidate is a wasted vote, sometimes for reasons one hasn’t imagined.

Two related posts
Allegory and Allegory redux (My theory of voting)