Comments on: Where did the Pac-Man term "Cruise Elroy" come from?

Question: Where did the Pac-Man term "Cruise Elroy" come from?

danb — Fri, 15 Jul 2005 16:13:37 -0800

Where did the Pac-Man term "Cruise Elroy" come from?

From the Wikipedia entry on Pac-Man: "Blinky ('Shadow') is the red monster. He tends to pursue Pac-Man closely. When a certain number of dots are eaten on the board (depending on the level), Blinky will receive a considerable boost in speed. Pac-Man fans refer to this change as 'Cruise Elroy,' though the origin of this term is unknown."

Googling for "Cruise Elroy" doesn't yield any more information. Where did it come from? How does a phrase like this crop up and spread undetected?

By: goodnewsfortheinsane

goodnewsfortheinsane — Fri, 15 Jul 2005 16:56:40 -0800

I'm no Pac-Man buff, but I will go all languagehat on you and suggest you create a thread over on Word Origins.

By: mai

mai — Fri, 15 Jul 2005 17:17:02 -0800

Elroy was the son on the Jetsons, no? Not that it helps.

By: SPrintF

SPrintF — Fri, 15 Jul 2005 17:52:25 -0800

Cruise Elroy backslang for Royal Cruise? Just guessing.

By: Galvatron

Galvatron — Fri, 15 Jul 2005 17:59:55 -0800

The Jetsons was my first thought as well. In the show intro, Elroy gets sent to school in a little pod-like "cruiser." If you squint hard enough, you notice it has sorta the same shape as a Pac Man ghost.

By: Smart Dalek

Smart Dalek — Sat, 16 Jul 2005 15:20:43 -0800

Blinky/Shadow: Red.

Perhaps "Cruise Elroy" was a reference to Hawaiian race car driver Elroy Goto.