Scarecrow portrayer / SUN 10-25-20 / Citrus fruit with portmanteau name /No-go area in brief / Indiana city that's 100 miles west of Lima Ohio / Capone contemporary

Constructor: Peter A. Collins

Relative difficulty: Challenging (north of 13 minutes???)

THEME: "At the Halloween play ..." — I don't even know ... themers are completions of sentences that are allegedly related to a Halloween play, whatever that is:

Theme answers:

• AUDIENCE HISSED (23A: At the Halloween play, when the black cat appeared, the ___)
• BAREBONES RENDITION (36A: ... the skeleton gave a ___)
• A VARIETY OF PARTS (48A: ... Frankenstein had ___)
• WARTS AND ALL (68A: ... the critics loved the witch's performance, ___)
• NOBODY TO ACT WITH (85A: ... the ghost had ___)
• REFLECTED ON HIS ROLE (92A: ... the vampire never ___)
• AT THE WRAP PARTY (117A: ... the mummy was a hit ___)

Word of the Day: TORO (80D: Fatty tuna, in Japanese cuisine) —

Toro (toh-roh) is the term for the fatty part of the tuna, found in the belly portion of the fish. Toro is further broken up into two distinct subtypes, and they are more expensive due to their relative scarcity as a proportion of the entire fish. The two types of toro are:

Chutoro (choo-toh-roh), which is sometimes labeled chu-toro, is the belly area of the tuna along the side of the fish between the akami and the otoro. It is often preferred because it is fatty but not as fatty as otoro. 

Otoro (oh-toh-roh), which is sometimes labeled o-toro, is the fattiest portion of the tuna, found on the very underside of the fish. This cut is fatty almost to the point of falling apart and can literally melt in your mouth. (sushifaq.com)

• • •

What the hell is a "Halloween play"? The very premise is ridiculous, and most of the answer are torture. Painful, forced puns, phrases that aren't even stand-alone phrases. Genuinely awful. There was not one moment during this solve when I was having fun. The theme is garbage, and there are no (zero) really good answers outside the theme. Stunningly awful, all the way around. I love Halloween, but this ... what is this? What a horrible way to end an otherwise lovely day—first day of early voting in New York. I stood on line for what is, for me, a ridiculous amount of time (something over an hour), just to make sure that my vote would be counted—not a given. My wife is currently in quarantine, which she learned about only yesterday, and even though it only lasts until Tuesday (and she's in no real danger, honestly, don't worry), it seems quite possible, with community transmission as high as it currently is in my county, that she could get quarantined again, for longer, through election day, and all of a sudden I'm thinking "what if I'm quarantined? And I am not allowed to leave the house? Is that possible? Because that is not acceptable." So I panicked today and just went and stood in line and did the thing. And I'm picking up an absentee ballot for my wife on Monday, Just In Case. She'll probably emerge from quarantine on Wednesday and be able to vote just fine, but neither of us is willing to take any chances. We both have a visceral need to be part of the event that puts a stake through the heart of the current administration. So please vote. Unless you're a f***ing Trumpist, in which case, please go jump in a lake. Where was I? Oh, yeah, riding high on my feeling of community and civic responsibility ... until this stupid puzzle came along. 

The worst, the absolute worst thing about this puzzle is ASHOE (21D: Apt thing to wear during allergy season?). Whose idea was that clue? The fill is bad, enough, but fine, you need a partial like that, give me the Old Woman Who Lives In ___ and fine, it's done, moving on. But no, you gotta get cute with this awful, awful, inaccurate joke clue. It's apt to wear ... A SHOE? During allergy season? Let's start with the literal level here, as clearly nearly everyone wears A SHOE (two, even) every day, in every season. It's not an unusual, seasonal, or even very optional article of clothing, so the whole "apt thing to wear" is dumb on its face. Second, the "A" part ... is so awful. Why would anyone be looking for an indefinite article here? Why? I had --HOE and literally no idea. Thought I had an error (because I also couldn't get MY HERO! and had some other stupid name where stupid ancient crosswordese ANSE was supposed to be (9D: "As I Lay Dying" father), and thus also couldn't see MYLANTA, a brand I haven't even thought about in decades) (20A: Heartburn relief brand). But the very very worst thing about this whole A SHOE business is that It Doesn't Even Sound Like A Sneeze. It's "achoo," not "ashoo." This single clue / answer just makes me desperately wish for new leadership at the editorship position. Please. My kingdom for a different sensibility, with a decent sense of humor. Someone not living in Corny Punville circa 1975. 

There was a host of stuff that made it hard, stuff I just didn't know. TORO, for instance (as clued). and LIVE OAKS (108A: Southern shade trees). But mostly the reason it was hard was that so many of the themers were impossible for me to figure out because they weren't really plays on familiar phrases. For ever WARTS AND ALL (fine), there was a BAREBONES RENDITION (the "RENDITION" part, brutal ... what?). Or REFLECTED ON HIS ROLE (dear lord, the ON HIS ROLE part, just gibberish to me). One of your themers is AUDIENCE HISSED. Please, I know it's a cliché statement, but please let that sink in. AUDIENCE HISSED. How in the world is NOBODY TO ACT WITH a phrase ... anywhere ... at all ... ever? I gotta quit. Can someone who is actually funny or clever please, I beg you, submit a Sunday puzzle? Because it has been a *Painful* last few weeks. Phew. Monday can't come soon enough. Good day. And vote!

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld 

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