Constructor: Emily Carroll

Relative issue: Easy

THEME: GHOST WRITER (59A: Hired pen … or, punnily, the writer of 20-, 36- and 43-Across?) — I do not suppose I get it, however I’ll attempt: the solutions are extraordinary phrases reimagined as in the event that they have been Spoooky items of writing:

Theme solutions:

• SCARE QUOTES (20A: Punctuation marks indicating irony)
• DOOMSCROLLS (36A: Binges on unhealthy information, in trendy slang)
• DEAD LETTERS (43A: Mail that can not be delivered or returned)

Word of the Day: ATHOS (18A: Friend of Porthos and Aramis in “The Three Musketeers”) —

Athos, Count de la Fère, is a fictional character within the novels The Three Musketeers (1844), Twenty Years After (1845) and The Vicomte de Bragelonne (1847–1850) by Alexandre Dumas, père. He is a extremely fictionalised model of the historic musketeer Armand d’Athos (1615–1644). // In The Three Musketeers, Athos and the opposite two musketeers, Porthos and Aramis, are mates of the novel’s protagonist, d’Artagnan. Athos has a mysterious previous connecting him with the villain of the novel, Milady de Winter. The oldest of the group by some years, Athos is described as noble and good-looking but in addition taciturn and melancholy, drowning his secret sorrows in drink. He could be very protecting of d’Artagnan, the youngest, whom he ultimately treats as his brother. By the tip of the novel, it’s revealed that he’s the Count de la Fère. He was as soon as married to Milady de Winter and tried to kill her after discovering that she was a legal on the run, an occasion which left him bitter and disillusioned. However, in the course of the course of this novel, he is ready to get his revenge on Milady. (wikipedia)

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It’s Halloween, and it is Monday, so I’d love to only hold it lighthearted, say “cute, good,” and transfer alongside. And that is principally what I’m gonna do. But I’ve to say (as I say above), I do not actually get the theme. Or I do not perceive how “punnily” is getting used. Is the “pun” that “ghost” right here is being taken … what, actually? OK however since when does a ghost carry “doom.” SCARE and DEAD I get, however DOOM appears barely off. Also, LETTERS has not been sufficiently reimagined, the best way QUOTES and SCROLLS have. SCARE QUOTES are punctuation, however in case you comply with the revealer’s logic, then they’re one thing a ghost writes (“quotations,” I assume). DOOMSCROLLS is a verb, however following the revealer’s logic, “scrolls” turns into (once more) one thing a ghost writes. But DEAD LETTERS are … letters. Not alphabet letters, however precise postal letters … so the revealer undoubtedly reimagines “lifeless” but it surely does Not reimagine “letters.” The “punny” that means continues to be the identical because the clued that means. The connection between “ghosts” and the themers feels very tenuous, even in case you stretch the that means of “punnily” an entire lot. And DEAD LETTERS simply did not take “punnily” far sufficient. But once more, it is Halloween, it is Monday, simply take your very quick time, eat some sweet, and be pleased, I assume. 

The fill can be an issue. Below common, *particularly* for a puzzle with such a light-weight, undemanding theme. I hadn’t even completed up the NW nook and I used to be already getting unhealthy vibes. MEME MENSA NEMO MAMAS ASSAY … all of it felt very stale, very warmed over. ATHOS ADHOC SHAQ, identical. And then … HODOR??? A “Game Of Thrones” … servant?? Look, possibly in case your fill have been glowing, or at the very least butter-smooth, you might get away with HODOR—just a little flourish to indicate off your “GOT” fandom. A bit of wink. Whatever. If you cross it pretty (as is the case right now) who cares? And but … its comparative obscurity (on a Monday, in *this* drained grid) is by some means just a little galling. I really feel such as you gotta earn HODOR, on a Monday, and this grid would not. ARIA SPA ALI PIETA IMAM IMAX EXES LASE EROS ATARI SNOOT ONTOE ESTD ELAN ERSE (!) ICARE (crossing IAGREE on the “I”!?). No, the grid simply would not really feel sufficiently polished for a Monday NYTXW with a low-density theme. The theme must be tighter and the fill must be cleaner. That’s all. [scans the grid again] Yeah, that basically is all.