Newcastle upon Tyne at Christmas photograph by Ian Britton
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Puzzle by Stanley Newman, edited by Will Shortz
Santa CATALINA ISLAND, Santa MONICA MOUNTAINS and Santa ANITA RACE TRACK are the interrelated group of this Christmas Day crossword. It is Christmas, isn’t it? Two more duplicate clues are Doctor’s directive for STAT and REST; and Point for DECIMAL and DOT. Hmm…
Other across — 1. “The Twentieth Century” producer, CBS NEWS; 15. Knock noise, RAT-A-TAT; 16. Spring, EMANATE; 17. How some pranks are done, ON A DARE; 18. 1970s “first mother”, LILLIAN; 21. Security Council veto, NON; 22. Makeup of some burgers, SOY; 23. Stunning, DAZING; 28. Put away, DO IN; 30. Get stuck, JAM; 33. Off-white shade, IVORY; 34. Sight from the top of the Leaning Tower, ARNO; 35. Out-and-out, PURE; 39. Isn’t straight, LIES; 40. Certain party, in headlines, DEMS; 41. Members of an ancient empire, INCAS; 42. Golf scorecard abbr., YDS; 43. Part of the planning for many a surprise birthday party, RUSE; 44. Happy cohort?, SNEEZY of Disney fame, but for the best sneeze ever, go HERE; 45. Company with an I.P.O. in both 1992 and 2009, AOL; 56. Stir up, ANIMATE; 57. Schmaltz, TREACLE; 58. Buildings a foundation, say, DONATES; 59. Bridge topic; 60. Lab procedure, DNA TEST; 61. Some game show questions, TOSS-UPS.
Down — 1. Big snapper, informally, CROC; 2. Actor who played the villain in 2009’s “Star Trek”, BANA; 4. Zip, NADA; 5. Endnote abbr., ET AL; 6. Big blender maker, WARING; 7. Old office worker, STENO; 8. Place for a ham, DELI; 9. E.P.A. measurement, EMISSION; 10. Tap, CALL ON; 11. Fine furniture feature, INLAY; 12. Water carrier, MAIN; 13. Slightly, A TAD; 14. Wiseman who directed “Live Free or Die Hard”, LEN; 20. Wife of Perseus, ANDROMEDA; 23. How distant stars shine, DIMLY; 24. Go around, AVOID; 25. Thinks about nothing, with “out”, ZONES; 26. Tennesee’s state flower, IRIS; 27. Former U.S. capital: Abr., NYC; 29. Heavy load, ONUS; 30. Oomph, JUICE; 31. “I Love Lucy” executive producer, ARNAZ; 32. Embarrassing, MESSY; 34. City north of Des Moines, AMES; 35. Stamp sheet, PANE; 37. Fawns over, ADULATES; 38. Corrosion-resistant plating, TIN; 43. Circumvolve, ROTATE; 44. “Perfection under fire” product, STERNO; 45. Imply, AIM AT; 47. Certain chamber piece, OCTET; 48. Uninformative attribution: Abbr., ANON; 49. Granada girl, NINA; 51. Turner and others, TEDS; 52. Chins or jaws, RAPS; 53. Opponent of the Patriot Act, for short, ACLU; 54. Give a hand?, CLAP; 55. They have all the answers, KEYS; 56. Foot up, ADD.
“I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was six. Mother took me to see him in a department store and he asked for my autograph.” ~ Shirley Temple
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