Al in Pittsburgh

@Jim DOOK alert. The entry parses as SKATE RAT. No standalone AT.

@R.J. Smith Always surprised at the number of people who boast of not knowing about something no matter if it's opera, rap, sports, foreign phrases, or anything else. We all have our own areas of interest. No need to try to justify our blindspots.

@AS I've always believed that FIRST GENERATION referred to the native-born children of said immigrants. That's how my Pittsburgh friends referred to themselves. Anyone else understand it that way?

@Chrissy I think you are underestimating the audience here.

@Mike You're just gherkin our chains. It's your bread and butter.

@Mike If you knead a hand, just challah. That should get a rise out of it.

@Grumpy I think that we all, (all right, most of us), were exposed to LEMMA in high school geometry. But I can't prove it.

@Eva H. You may have heard of some of the members: Supergroup active from 1988 to 1991 consisting of Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty.

@Stephen Alex Trebek was once asked if, with all his experience as host of Jeopardy, he could compete with current contestants. As I remember it, his answer was something like: "I could hold my own with people my age but the younger ones would clean my clock." Why I remember this after many years is a mystery.

@Francis I suggest the stress of your city's plight is making it hard to concentrate on the puzzles. Paraphrasing Thomas Mann in The Magic Mountain: A man lives his own life, but also the life of his epoch. The deficiencies of his epoch lead to physical problems. One needs moral remoteness or robust vitality to cope. Mann then notes that his protagonist has neither.

@Mike Since I'm a Gemini, I have two things to say. 1. A NY filmmaker whose name must not be said has been quoted saying: "Showing up is 80% of life." You always show up. I speak for all of us who get inspired only once in while when I say we are in awe of that performance. For a TL;DR search on the provenance of that quote: <a href="https://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/06/10/showing-up" target="_blank">https://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/06/10/showing-up</a>/ 2. Far from a silly goose, I bet that your math students see you as a wise-cracking old owl. They know that you will show them all the angles to approach a problem. All the best for Thanksgiving, Pilgrim.

@Mike Don't leave us hanging. How did it all fall out?

@Mike We could exchange rings every year. It would be an annular event,

@Mike An escape like that is a real chicken coup. It flew the coop in a coupe.

@Dave This is getting tiresome. If not creepy.

@Mike Guess he paid for it with star-bucks. Back in those days there would have been TONS of roaming charges and response would take AGES.

@Mike Sorry that he hemmed and hawed about that. Maybe he was pressed for time.

@Steven M. A great story. Thank you. Another one for the "Where else but Wordplay" folder.

@Mike Don't beat yourself up. You don't have to scramble. Per Yogi: "When you come to a fork in the road, take it."

@Ronnie I disagree. IMO Steve's just pointing out that almost every entry in every grid is bound to puzzle somebody. Whether they all justify complaints, especially angry and disparaging ones, is a separate issue.

@Mike Those little Lego characters really stick together. But their vehicles are always up on blocks.

@Mike Sencha asked, I've been brown-bagging my lunch lately. Cafeteria prices are too steep. Tired of getting soaked. I'll put a note in my loose-leaf so I won't forget.

@Mike This leaves a sour taste in my mouth, Have to gin up a solution.

@Sam Lyons Well, I had "doe" in there. They don't call them white-tails for nothing. That lasted until I caught the theme. Another thing I entered before that catch was "euros" for 2d "The ones over there". Thought it was a great clue and was pretty proud of myself for a while. Llano instead of PAMPA was another false start. Better go back to read more Borges.

@john ezra I have trouble remembering the difference between an axolotl and an atlatl. Good thing that I've never been an Aztec warrior throwing newts at the enemy.

@Mike Hope you're not bogged down. Let me bayou a drink.

@Rachel One of the rewards of this pastime is the way certain words and phrases awaken personal memories and associations. One of the benefits of this forum is the ability to share and read those unexpected stories. They often inspire some of the best conversations.

@Mike YEESH! My BORSCHT made them BELCH. Why? Beets me.

@Mike Don't have a calf, man. You've got a legitimate beef.

@Mike The Bard says Marc Antony wanted to borrow some ears. Shucks. I guess there's a kernel of truth in it.

@Mike Don't leave us hanging. It sounds like a shady deal.

@Ro Well, Call me Ishmael if that isn't a great comment. Bravo.

@Cat Lady Margaret The old joke about the Greek tailor's sign reads: EURIPIDES, I MENIDES.

@Mike I'm looking for a big score. Yeah, yeah. The same old refrain.

@Mike Trying to stirrup something? It's aboot time. We need a bit of rain, but it won't last furlong. There's an opera about a filly Mignon.

@Cat Lady Margaret We don't drive down the street bumper to bumper. The "staggered start" just restores the spacing the cars had before they had to stop at the light. Think about trying to maintain a distance of a foot or two between your car and the ones ahead and behind in moving traffic. Expert NASCAR drivers do that sort of thing for drafting purposes and many of them get crashed out in every race. Even without cross traffic and red lights.

@Mike You better taper off. My candle burns at both ends; It will not last the night; But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends— It gives a lovely light! Edna St. Vincent Millay 1892–1950

@HC Tabak Speaking logically, I suppose A painting can be a Monet, hence a Monet can be a painting.

@Mike Please, Sir, could I have some more? How the Dickens could our mutual friend John confound our great expectations of him?

@Mike Took the whole crew to get all decks on hand. Now they can leave the bridge and shuffle off to bed. Probably a little groggy.

@Mike My MOONDANCE is more like a shuffle. The Stooges were three of a kind. They often played to a full house. Cheech and Chong were a high pair. I could go straight on 'til morning.

@Mike The neighbors are wigging out. They want the lot as a bald field.

@Josh As Paul says, it's just a term for face as is kisser. Remember the Honeymooners? ”One of these days, Alice – Pow! Right in the kisser!” A sourpuss is a grumpy person with a grim expression,

@Barry Ancona Just a shade, (<10 percent), below average here. I think that I learned DOPESLAP from Car Talk. I still miss those guys. I usually identified with Tom.

@Mike I used to have crib notes. Now I use a mobile app. It helps to have a pacifier. There's a prize for a good one.