Trick-or-treating - earliest printed attestation

NOV 01 1917

Recurring annual Halloween house-visiting custom in which costumed children demand treats under implied threat of a prank. The earliest known printed use is in The Sault Daily Star, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, 1 November 1917: 'Tricks or treats you could hear the gangs call out'. CORRECTION: the frequently cited 1927 Blackie, Alberta reference is NOT the earliest, it is the earliest instance of the modern exact phrasing 'trick or treat', which the 1917 citation antedates in variant form.