March 26, 2026

Title: HA HA

Constructor: Marshal Herrmann

Editor: Amie Walker

Theme synopsis:

• HAUNTED HAYRIDE (19A: Spooky season activity on a farm)
• HATTIE HARMONY (35A: "Worry detective" in a children't book series by Elizabeth Olsen)
• HAPPY HALLOWEEN (52A: Greeting to trick-or-treaters)

HA HA: Each theme answer is a two-word phrase in which each word begins with HA: HAUNTED HAYRIDE, HATTIE HARMONY, and HAPPY HALLOWEEN.

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• NAPA (32A: "If you're tired, you take a ___, you don't move to ___" (punny "Sex and the City" quote)) In Season 4 of the TV series, Sex and the City, Mr. Big (portrayed by Chris North) tells Carrie Bradshaw (played by Sarah Jessica Parker) that he's moving to NAPA, California because he's tired of New York. Carrie replies, "If you're tired, you take a NAPA, you don't move to NAPA." This punny response has been used on many social media posts about trips to NAPA.
• CARDS (6D: There are 110 in the CuBirds deck) CuBirds is a CARD game in which players collect bird CARDS and attempt to build flocks of birds. This is a new game to me, but the answer was inferable from the word "deck."

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• ARABS (1A: Many Moroccans) Morocco is a country in North Africa. Its capital is Rabat. The two main ethnic groups in Morocco are ARABS and Berbers, with ARABS estimated to make up 65-80% of the country's population. Morocco is one of the 22 member countries of the ARAB League.
• RUBLE (13A: Currency in Moscow) Moscow is the capital and largest city of Russia, where the currency is the Russian RUBLE.
• HATTIE HARMONY (35A: "Worry detective" in a children's book series by Elizabeth Olsen) Yes, the Elizabeth Olsen who writes about HATTIE HARMONY is the same Elizabeth Olsen who portrays Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She co-writes the books with her husband, Robbie Arnett. HATTIE HARMONY: Worry Detective is the first book in the series. The title character is a cat (my cat, Willow, approves!) who teaches her friends (and thus her readers) helpful self-care tools to manage anxiety. I first learned about HATTIE HARMONY from the August 18, 2022 puzzle. 
• TONY (42A: Broadway award for "Maybe Happy Ending") Maybe Happy Ending is a one-act musical about life-like robots (helper-bots) named Claire and Oliver. The helper-bots have been abandoned by their owners and live in an apartment complex with other abandoned helper-bots. The musical was written by Hue Park with music composed by Will Aronson. It premiered in Seoul, South Korea in 2016 and opened on Broadway in 2024. Maybe Happy Ending won six TONY Awards, including Best Musical and Best Original Score.
• MEW (46A: Kitty's sound) Yesterday we saw the plural MEWS clued as [Kitty's cries]. My kitty, Willow (who is no longer a kitty!), is delighted with this cat content. Here's my current view of Willow, as she's sleeping on my lap while I type this. She's so helpful!

• COCO (59A: Pixar film set in Mexico) The 2017 animated movie, COCO, which is set in Mexico, is inspired by the Mexican holiday, Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, a time to pray for and remember family and friends who have died.
• SWIM (15D: Begin a triathlon) A triathlon consists of a 2.4-mile SWIM (the first event), a 112-mile bicycle ride, and a 26.22-mile run (i.e. a marathon).
• LAST DANCE (31D: 1978 Donna Summer hit commonly played at the ends of weddings) This is a fun clue for "LAST DANCE." This Donna Summer song is from the 1978 movie Thank God It's Friday and won an Academy Award for Best Original Song.
• DOLLYWOOD (34D: Biggest ticketed tourist attraction in Tennessee) DOLLYWOOD is a theme park located in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The park is jointly owned by Dolly Parton and Herschend Family Entertainment. 
• HULA HOOP (35D: Toy you might play around with?) A hula hoop literally goes around when you play with it.
• IMO (36D: "FWIW" alternative) FWIW = for what it's worth; IMO = in my opinion
• TESSA (50D: "Creed" actor Thompson) TESSA Thompson's movie credits include playing the role of Bianca Taylor in the movies Creed (2015), Creed II (2018), and Creed III (2023).
• A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
• MOOD (39A: "Me rn")
• SPLASH PAD (8D: Water play section of a playground)
• AHOY, MATEY (33D: "Hello, fellow pirate!")

Did today's puzzle have you laughing out loud? HA HA! Although it's March, this puzzle has a bit of a fun October vibe with HAUNTED HAYRIDE and HAPPY HALLOWEEN. Thank you, Marshal, for this enjoyable puzzle.

A note about comments: I welcome your comments on the blog! For one thing it's nice to know folks are reading what I've written. My goal for this blog has always been for it to be informational, conversational, and kind. I ask that you keep those goals in mind when commenting. Unkind comments will be deleted. Note that I am more likely to delete a negative comment if it is posted anonymously. (P.S. You can point out when I make a mistake – in fact, I appreciate that so I can correct it.)