(Note: LA Times website does not support circled letters feature. Here is the pdf file of today's puzzle.)
Theme: No More Boos - A Halloween puzzle. The word "ghost" is "busted" in each familiar phrase and orderly circled in the grid. Please see Don "Hard G"'s notes at the end of my writeup for his construction inspiration.
23A. One with all the answers—or in one case, questions : GAME SHOW HOST. Alex Trebek (Jeopardy) has all the questions as answers.
32A. Global warming factor : GREENHOUSE EFFECT
41A. Boom box : GHETTO BLASTER. Not familiar with this term. Makes sense.
53A. Prepare for lean times : TIGHTEN ONE'S BELT
66A. Movie with the tagline "Sleep kills" : A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET. Nice grid spanner. Plus the scary factor. Good one.
76A. HDL, familiarly : GOOD CHOLESTEROL. LDL is bad.
89A. Haunted house creaker : FLIGHT OF STEPS
101A. Medical school affiliate : TEACHING HOSPITAL. Unique GHOS & T break.
112A. Movie good guys responsible for the circled squares in eight long puzzle answers : GHOSTBUSTERS. Great unifier.
Total 133 theme squares. Very dense. Don also tried a variety of different GHOST buster phrases. Additionally, he was able to sprinkle in more Halloween spookiness in more fill/clues:
25A. October porch swinger : SKELETON
118A. Like much Halloween candy : BITE-SIZE. Great answer.
1D. Working at night for Dr. Frankenstein? : DIGGING. Scary.
3D. Twilight Saga character : VAMPIRE.
103D. Graveyard divisions : PLOTS
113D. Half a scary fly : TSE. Our old editor Wayne R. Williams used this answer/clue all the time, sans "scary".
Across:
1. '90s sci-fi series "seaQuest __" : DSV. Immediate stumper. DSV stands for "Deep Submergence Vehicle"
4. Frost's foot : IAMB. Robert Frost.
8. Honest prez : ABE
11. Parks for rights : ROSA. Rosa Parks.
15. Imogene's partner : SID (Caesar)
18. "Isn't __ pity?" : IT A
19. Greek king tormented by fruit and water he could never quite reach : TANTALUS. From him we get "tantalize".
21. __ minérales : EAUX. Plural of eau.
22. "A long time __ in a galaxy ..." : AGO
27. Aquarium fish : GUPPY. No idea. Looks like a fish peacock.
28. __-jongg : MAH
29. Like "egad," oathwise : MILD
30. Ford whose debut album was "Out for Blood" : LITA. No. Don't recognize her name.
31. Vying : IN IT
37. ATM maker : NCR
38. When to get well? : SOON. Get well soon.
39. Friendship : AMITY
40. Limber : LITHE
45. Female "Mortal Kombat" agent __ Blade : SONYA. Complete unknown. Nice abs.
46. Two-legged zebra : REF. Fun clue.
47. Pitch path : ARC
48. Pooh __: pompous officials : BAHS. I know Grand Pooh-Bah.
50. Blemish : STAIN
61. 1962 Phantom portrayer Herbert : LOM. No idea. "Pink Panther" is so silly.
62. AFL affiliate : CIO
64. Good Witch of the North portrayer Burke : BILLIE. I had her Franklin Mint doll. Wicked Witch of the West was the most expensive in the series.
65. Eye's middle layer : UVEA
72. Ship with a tilde : NIÑA. The Niña, Pinta & Santa María.
73. Memory lane walk : STROLL
74. "So that's it!" : AHA
75. 8-track tape co. : RCA
81. They may be taken with a raised hand : OATHS
83. Quarterback Tony : ROMO. Hurt. Out for the season.
84. Milk, on an Rx : LAC
85. You can bet on it : TIP. Good clue.
86. Affect, as heartstrings : TUG AT
96. Maître d's stack : MENUS
97. Didn't miss __ : A BEAT
99. Oater actor Jack : ELAM. This image is ingrained in my brain.
100. Wine holder : VAT
105. __ monster : GILA
106. Diet suffix : ETIC. Dietetic. I only know dietitian.
107. Kind of crazy? : STIR. Stir crazy.
108. Matterhorn, e.g. : ALP
109. Student of Graham : AILEY (Alvin). Martha Graham. Faintly recalled the name.
110. Hitchcock genre : THRILLER
116. Born : NEE
117. Pulitzer winner Bellow : SAUL
119. Vote for : YEA
120. Put in : ADD
121. World Series sextet : UMPS. Very timely. Also 122. New Eng. sextet : STS (States). "Sextet" clechos.
123. Cast-of-thousands movie : EPIC
124. Ohio summer hrs. : EDT. Don lives there.
Down:
2. Steadfast : STAUNCH
4. __-bitsy : ITSY
5. Relaxed reaction : AAH
6. LP filler? : MNO. Alphabetic run. L M N O P.
7. Texter's "incidentally" : BTW
8. Float __ : A LOAN
9. Outback topper : BUSH HAT. Well, I am sure Kazie knows. It's like this.
10. Car repair fig. : EST
11. Make a stand : RESIST
12. Buffalo Bill associate : OAKLEY (Annie)
13. Glove material : SUEDE
14. Rose of Guns N' Roses : AXL
15. Fullness : SATIETY
16. "Tricked you!" : I GOTCHA
17. Campaign Web site option : DONATE. Another timely clue.
20. Words of woe : AH ME
24. Skillful, kiddingly : EPT. Opposite of "Inept".
26. Like Puck : ELFIN. Puck is capitalized, the trickester in "A Midsummer Night's Dream".
29. Conservationist John : MUIR
32. Blockhead : GOOF
33. Director Reiner : ROB. Loved his "A Few Good Men".
34. Zhou of China : ENLAI. Zhou is also the name of a dynasty, right before Qin. Both had capital in Xi'An. Hence my real name.
35. 'Abitation? : OME. Habitation/Home. Both Hs are dropped. Cockney accent.
36. Brush partner : FLOSS
38. Malodor : STENCH
42. Start to fold? : TRI. Start to the word trifold.
43. Uru. neighbor : ARG
44. SAT-taking venue : SCH
45. "Jeepers!" : SHEESH
48. Cotton capsule : BOLL. Have you picked fresh cotton? I have.
49. Wolfman, some nights : ANIMAL
50. "A poor man's poetry": Moore : SLANG. Unaware of this saying.
51. "Pagliacci" clown : TONIO. Can never remember this name.
52. __ acid : AMINO
53. Source of an oater long-distance call? : TOM TOM. Drum. I don't get this clue. Why "long-distance call?"
54. Hose clamp tightener : T-BOLT
55. German article : EIN. German "a".
56. Pirates' former div. : NLE (National League East). Now NL Central.
57. Rough case? : BUR. The prickly seed cover. Rough indeed.
58. Chris on the court : EVERT. Tennis court.
59. Parasite : LEECH
60. Brit's bye-byes : TATAS. Same here.
63. Sweater words? : IT'S HOT. Sweater = One who sweats.
67. Roam (about) : GAD
68. First name in protest singing : ARLO (Guthrie)
69. __ v. Wade : ROE
70. Local pair? : ELS. A pair of letter L in local.
71. Eastern philosophy : TAOISM. And 90. __-tzu, founder of 71-Down : LAO. Lao = Old.
77. Rubbernecking cause : CRASH
78. Taina of "Les Girls" : ELG. No idea. Which one?
79. By itself, not much of a cheer : RAH. Lovely clue.
80. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, say : OCTET. Septet + One.
82. Liable : APT
85. Nonstick cookware brand : T-FAL
86. Grew choppers : TEETHED. Sweet clue.
87. Like a repressed grievance : UNAIRED
88. Big name in leather goods : GUCCI
89. Baseball players' union chief before Weiner : FEHR (Donald). He looks familiar.
91. Sellout reaction, in headlines : IT'S A HIT
92. Plug extension? : OLA. Plugola.
93. Wicked looker : EVIL EYE. My friend Roberto wears an evil eye charm. He bought from Turkey.
94. Pink, e.g. : PALE RED. Not a phrase I use.
95. Patronizes, as a motel : STAYS AT
96. Ital. volcano : MT. ETNA. In Sicily.
97. Dealer's demand : ANTE UP
98. Nightclub circulators : B-GIRLS. B-B0ys too.
102. Koran religion : ISLAM
104. __ dixit : IPSE. Literally "He himself said it".
105. Yosemite Sam's "Scram!" : GIT
109. "Just __!" : A SEC
111. The NCAA's Fightin' Tigers : LSU. Shaq's alma mater.
112. "Pygmalion" monogram : GBS (George Bernard Shaw)
114. Marceau alter ego : BIP. Unknown to me.
115. Compact submachine gun : UZI. Israeli gun.
Answer grid.
Notes from Don G:
"I was inspired by John Lampkin’s Pumpkin puzzle last Halloween. I was reminded how fun this time of year is. My first idea was a dud. I tried to do something with the words TRICK and TREAT. It didn’t work very well.
I was solving a circle puzzle some time shortly thereafter, and it just clicked. Put GHOST in circles, find them “busted up” within other entries, and we got GHOSTBUSTERS. I realized early on that I did not want GHOSTBUSTERS to appear in the title. I like surprises in my puzzles. The title was decided after everything else was done, which is opposite to how it often happens. The title I came up with is “No More Boos”, and we’ll see if it sticks. Kind of a downer, though. We want our boos (and maybe booze) on Halloween.
John Lampkin had also taught me about using One Look Dictionary as a search engine. It came in handy here. I got a couple on my own, but I relied on computer generation to help me find the hidden GHOSTS. I went a little overboard, too. I think my theme letter count got up to 130, which is fairly high. Filling the grid becomes tough. To further challenge myself, I wanted to put in some Halloween-type entries to enliven the theme. It should be a lot of fun, and that’s what it’s all about on Halloween.
I've mentioned John twice. I have been fortunate to have learned a great deal about crossword puzzles from him, and he has been generous in explaining his approach to creating puzzles. He is a consummate artist when it comes to creating puzzles, which he pursues quite avidly as he does butterflies and music. The world is a much better place for John Lampkin! I am happy to call him a friend."
C.C.
Theme: No More Boos - A Halloween puzzle. The word "ghost" is "busted" in each familiar phrase and orderly circled in the grid. Please see Don "Hard G"'s notes at the end of my writeup for his construction inspiration.
23A. One with all the answers—or in one case, questions : GAME SHOW HOST. Alex Trebek (Jeopardy) has all the questions as answers.
32A. Global warming factor : GREENHOUSE EFFECT
41A. Boom box : GHETTO BLASTER. Not familiar with this term. Makes sense.
53A. Prepare for lean times : TIGHTEN ONE'S BELT
66A. Movie with the tagline "Sleep kills" : A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET. Nice grid spanner. Plus the scary factor. Good one.
76A. HDL, familiarly : GOOD CHOLESTEROL. LDL is bad.
89A. Haunted house creaker : FLIGHT OF STEPS
101A. Medical school affiliate : TEACHING HOSPITAL. Unique GHOS & T break.
112A. Movie good guys responsible for the circled squares in eight long puzzle answers : GHOSTBUSTERS. Great unifier.
Total 133 theme squares. Very dense. Don also tried a variety of different GHOST buster phrases. Additionally, he was able to sprinkle in more Halloween spookiness in more fill/clues:
25A. October porch swinger : SKELETON
118A. Like much Halloween candy : BITE-SIZE. Great answer.
1D. Working at night for Dr. Frankenstein? : DIGGING. Scary.
3D. Twilight Saga character : VAMPIRE.
103D. Graveyard divisions : PLOTS
113D. Half a scary fly : TSE. Our old editor Wayne R. Williams used this answer/clue all the time, sans "scary".
Across:
1. '90s sci-fi series "seaQuest __" : DSV. Immediate stumper. DSV stands for "Deep Submergence Vehicle"
4. Frost's foot : IAMB. Robert Frost.
8. Honest prez : ABE
11. Parks for rights : ROSA. Rosa Parks.
15. Imogene's partner : SID (Caesar)
18. "Isn't __ pity?" : IT A
19. Greek king tormented by fruit and water he could never quite reach : TANTALUS. From him we get "tantalize".
21. __ minérales : EAUX. Plural of eau.
22. "A long time __ in a galaxy ..." : AGO
27. Aquarium fish : GUPPY. No idea. Looks like a fish peacock.
28. __-jongg : MAH
29. Like "egad," oathwise : MILD
30. Ford whose debut album was "Out for Blood" : LITA. No. Don't recognize her name.
31. Vying : IN IT
37. ATM maker : NCR
38. When to get well? : SOON. Get well soon.
39. Friendship : AMITY
40. Limber : LITHE
45. Female "Mortal Kombat" agent __ Blade : SONYA. Complete unknown. Nice abs.
46. Two-legged zebra : REF. Fun clue.
47. Pitch path : ARC
48. Pooh __: pompous officials : BAHS. I know Grand Pooh-Bah.
50. Blemish : STAIN
61. 1962 Phantom portrayer Herbert : LOM. No idea. "Pink Panther" is so silly.
62. AFL affiliate : CIO
64. Good Witch of the North portrayer Burke : BILLIE. I had her Franklin Mint doll. Wicked Witch of the West was the most expensive in the series.
65. Eye's middle layer : UVEA
72. Ship with a tilde : NIÑA. The Niña, Pinta & Santa María.
73. Memory lane walk : STROLL
74. "So that's it!" : AHA
75. 8-track tape co. : RCA
81. They may be taken with a raised hand : OATHS
83. Quarterback Tony : ROMO. Hurt. Out for the season.
84. Milk, on an Rx : LAC
85. You can bet on it : TIP. Good clue.
86. Affect, as heartstrings : TUG AT
96. Maître d's stack : MENUS
97. Didn't miss __ : A BEAT
99. Oater actor Jack : ELAM. This image is ingrained in my brain.
100. Wine holder : VAT
105. __ monster : GILA
106. Diet suffix : ETIC. Dietetic. I only know dietitian.
107. Kind of crazy? : STIR. Stir crazy.
108. Matterhorn, e.g. : ALP
109. Student of Graham : AILEY (Alvin). Martha Graham. Faintly recalled the name.
110. Hitchcock genre : THRILLER
116. Born : NEE
117. Pulitzer winner Bellow : SAUL
119. Vote for : YEA
120. Put in : ADD
121. World Series sextet : UMPS. Very timely. Also 122. New Eng. sextet : STS (States). "Sextet" clechos.
123. Cast-of-thousands movie : EPIC
124. Ohio summer hrs. : EDT. Don lives there.
Down:
2. Steadfast : STAUNCH
4. __-bitsy : ITSY
5. Relaxed reaction : AAH
6. LP filler? : MNO. Alphabetic run. L M N O P.
7. Texter's "incidentally" : BTW
8. Float __ : A LOAN
9. Outback topper : BUSH HAT. Well, I am sure Kazie knows. It's like this.
10. Car repair fig. : EST
11. Make a stand : RESIST
12. Buffalo Bill associate : OAKLEY (Annie)
13. Glove material : SUEDE
14. Rose of Guns N' Roses : AXL
15. Fullness : SATIETY
16. "Tricked you!" : I GOTCHA
17. Campaign Web site option : DONATE. Another timely clue.
20. Words of woe : AH ME
24. Skillful, kiddingly : EPT. Opposite of "Inept".
26. Like Puck : ELFIN. Puck is capitalized, the trickester in "A Midsummer Night's Dream".
29. Conservationist John : MUIR
32. Blockhead : GOOF
33. Director Reiner : ROB. Loved his "A Few Good Men".
34. Zhou of China : ENLAI. Zhou is also the name of a dynasty, right before Qin. Both had capital in Xi'An. Hence my real name.
35. 'Abitation? : OME. Habitation/Home. Both Hs are dropped. Cockney accent.
36. Brush partner : FLOSS
38. Malodor : STENCH
42. Start to fold? : TRI. Start to the word trifold.
43. Uru. neighbor : ARG
44. SAT-taking venue : SCH
45. "Jeepers!" : SHEESH
48. Cotton capsule : BOLL. Have you picked fresh cotton? I have.
49. Wolfman, some nights : ANIMAL
50. "A poor man's poetry": Moore : SLANG. Unaware of this saying.
51. "Pagliacci" clown : TONIO. Can never remember this name.
52. __ acid : AMINO
53. Source of an oater long-distance call? : TOM TOM. Drum. I don't get this clue. Why "long-distance call?"
54. Hose clamp tightener : T-BOLT
55. German article : EIN. German "a".
56. Pirates' former div. : NLE (National League East). Now NL Central.
57. Rough case? : BUR. The prickly seed cover. Rough indeed.
58. Chris on the court : EVERT. Tennis court.
59. Parasite : LEECH
60. Brit's bye-byes : TATAS. Same here.
63. Sweater words? : IT'S HOT. Sweater = One who sweats.
67. Roam (about) : GAD
68. First name in protest singing : ARLO (Guthrie)
69. __ v. Wade : ROE
70. Local pair? : ELS. A pair of letter L in local.
71. Eastern philosophy : TAOISM. And 90. __-tzu, founder of 71-Down : LAO. Lao = Old.
77. Rubbernecking cause : CRASH
78. Taina of "Les Girls" : ELG. No idea. Which one?
79. By itself, not much of a cheer : RAH. Lovely clue.
80. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, say : OCTET. Septet + One.
82. Liable : APT
85. Nonstick cookware brand : T-FAL
86. Grew choppers : TEETHED. Sweet clue.
87. Like a repressed grievance : UNAIRED
88. Big name in leather goods : GUCCI
89. Baseball players' union chief before Weiner : FEHR (Donald). He looks familiar.
91. Sellout reaction, in headlines : IT'S A HIT
92. Plug extension? : OLA. Plugola.
93. Wicked looker : EVIL EYE. My friend Roberto wears an evil eye charm. He bought from Turkey.
94. Pink, e.g. : PALE RED. Not a phrase I use.
95. Patronizes, as a motel : STAYS AT
96. Ital. volcano : MT. ETNA. In Sicily.
97. Dealer's demand : ANTE UP
98. Nightclub circulators : B-GIRLS. B-B0ys too.
102. Koran religion : ISLAM
104. __ dixit : IPSE. Literally "He himself said it".
105. Yosemite Sam's "Scram!" : GIT
109. "Just __!" : A SEC
111. The NCAA's Fightin' Tigers : LSU. Shaq's alma mater.
112. "Pygmalion" monogram : GBS (George Bernard Shaw)
114. Marceau alter ego : BIP. Unknown to me.
115. Compact submachine gun : UZI. Israeli gun.
Answer grid.
Notes from Don G:
"I was inspired by John Lampkin’s Pumpkin puzzle last Halloween. I was reminded how fun this time of year is. My first idea was a dud. I tried to do something with the words TRICK and TREAT. It didn’t work very well.
I was solving a circle puzzle some time shortly thereafter, and it just clicked. Put GHOST in circles, find them “busted up” within other entries, and we got GHOSTBUSTERS. I realized early on that I did not want GHOSTBUSTERS to appear in the title. I like surprises in my puzzles. The title was decided after everything else was done, which is opposite to how it often happens. The title I came up with is “No More Boos”, and we’ll see if it sticks. Kind of a downer, though. We want our boos (and maybe booze) on Halloween.
John Lampkin had also taught me about using One Look Dictionary as a search engine. It came in handy here. I got a couple on my own, but I relied on computer generation to help me find the hidden GHOSTS. I went a little overboard, too. I think my theme letter count got up to 130, which is fairly high. Filling the grid becomes tough. To further challenge myself, I wanted to put in some Halloween-type entries to enliven the theme. It should be a lot of fun, and that’s what it’s all about on Halloween.
I've mentioned John twice. I have been fortunate to have learned a great deal about crossword puzzles from him, and he has been generous in explaining his approach to creating puzzles. He is a consummate artist when it comes to creating puzzles, which he pursues quite avidly as he does butterflies and music. The world is a much better place for John Lampkin! I am happy to call him a friend."
C.C.
