‘Catherine of Beetlejuice’ NYT Mini Crossword puzzle clue answer and hints

The original Beetlejuice is nothing short of a whacky dark fantasy film, but that’s to be expected considering it’s directed by Tim Burton. One of the actresses, Catherine, lends her talents to several of his films—and is the answer to today’s NYT crossword clue.

The clue, “Catherine of ‘Beetlejuice,” comes from today’s Sept. 5 NYT Mini Crossword puzzle. If you’ve never watched Beetlejuice (or any other Tim Burton movie), you’re in luck because I totally love them and have the answer to this clue below.

‘Catherine of “Beetlejuice”‘ NYT Mini Crossword clue Sept. 5 hints and answer

• Hint 1: It starts with an “O.”
• Hint 2: It contains three vowels.
• Hint 3: This actress is known for her roles as Sally in The Nightmare Before Christmas and Kate in Home Alone.
• Hint 4: The answer is the actress’s last name.

The answer to the “Catherine of ‘Beetlejuice'” clue is “OHARA.” Catherine O’Hara plays the role of Delia Deetz in the original 1988 Beetlejuice film. More recently, she’s also returned to play the same character again in the Beetlejuice Beetlejuice sequel from this year.

Sept. 5 NYT Mini Crossword puzzle: All clues and answers

Across

• 1A File type for downloadable forms—PDF
• 4A Catherine of “Beetlejuice”—OHARA
• 6A Pastry with 5-down—DONUT
• 7A Nostalgic song—OLDIE
• 8A Left on ____ (still awaiting a text message response)—READ

Down

• 1D Animal known as a “giant cat bear” in Chinese due to its pupil shapes (vertical slits!)—PANDA
• 2D Ancient Celtic priest—DRUID
• 3D It’s written in the stars—FATE
• 4D Funk from a dirty sock—ODOR
• 5D Feature in the middle of a 6-across—HOLE

‘Catherine of “Beetlejuice”‘ crossword clue difficulty

As a Tim Burton fan, I knew this answer as soon as I read it because Catherine’s in both Beetlejuice movies. She’s also Kevin’s mother in Home Alone and voices Sally in The Nightmare Before Christmas and Mrs. Frankenstein in Frankenweenie. These are some of my favorite movies, so I had this clue in the bag. That said, if you’ve never seen any of her works this clue would have been a bit tougher, which is why I’m giving it a four out of five difficulty rating.

NYT Mini Crossword puzzle and word game alternatives

If you’re wondering what to play after finishing today’s NYT Mini Crossword puzzle, try the mini crosswords from the LA Times or the Washington Post. However, Strands and Spelling Bee are great options if you’d like to try word-based games.