Happy Holidays: Puzzles #285

CROSSWORD: SEASON'S GREETINGS

By Alex Le Sage

ACROSS 1 Prevents 6 Chip accompaniment 9 Wound cover during healing 13 Wood shaping tool 14 Talk ____, Podcast with Haliey Welch 15 Sacred or divine 16 Once more 17 ____-Man, Invincible character 18 Famous phrase of betrayal 19 Warm drink for a winter evening** 21 A sing-song sound 23 Scottish energy corp. 24 Ball-hitting equipment 25 Refuses 28 Annoying person 29 Virtue symbolized by the first candle of Advent** 30 Yeah ___!, Best Rap Song Grammy nominee 31 Persian ruler of old 34 Shire of ____ Caledon, St Andrews Medieval re-enactment society  36 Cadbury egg filling 38 River flowing through Newcastle 39 Christmas decoration with red berries** 41 £100, in British slang 42 A triangle has three 44 Idioteque album 45 Assistance for ongoing needs, abbr. 46 Before prefix 47 Trojan hero or dish soap 49 Alternative to ‘Yea” 51 Common December break** 53 It can be a bowler or a bucket 54 A small pouch, biologically 57 At any time 58 Crafted with love, for holiday treats** 60 Taylor-Joy of The Witch 62 Taunt 64 Common pre-Columbian calendar 65 Zoolander actor Wilson 66 Machine intelligence test, named after Alan 67 “Hey!” in a whisper 68 House, in Honduras 69 Clear away 70 Santa’s laugh, or the common feature in the answers to the starred clues**

DOWN 1 Spews nonsense 2 Nigerian port city 3 Grass found in baskets  4 Stylish 5 Jedi Master from Star Wars 6 Russian legislative body 7 Arsenal footballer Wright 8 Former Duke of Edinburgh 9 Gas station near the Whey Pat Tavern 10 cos(x)/sin(x) 11 Key next to the space bar 12 Mormon uni. 14 Trumpet’s sound 20 Grab, for a ball 22 Baldwin, of The Boss Baby: Family Business 25 Planet 26 Mesoamerican civilization known for colossal stone heads 27 It is human, as the saying goes 28 Clarified butter 29 If doubled, the shape of DNA 31 NBA shooter Curry 32 OVO _____, Glasgow arena 33 Nostalgic ABBA song often heard sped-up 35 All good 37 Pill bug ____-Poly 40 Former French colony in India 43 Love Deluxe band 48 Gungan from Star Wars 50 In time, musically  52 First wife of Donald Trump 53 Brass instrument with a conical shape 54 Doja Cat song remixed with Nicki Minaj 55 Just a bit 56 Baghdad Pact acronym 58 Sports equipment company or body part 59 TV show with the most watched episode in history 60 NY congresswoman 61 Compton hip-hop group, pioneers of Gangsta rap 63 Giants Quarterback Manning

SUDOKU

By Alex Le Sage

WORD SEARCH

By Greta Shope

BEAUTY	COMMUNITY	EDUCATION
EXPERIENCE	FAMILY	FOOD
FREEDOM	FRIENDS	GOODHEALTH
HOBBIES	HOME	KINDNESS
LAUGHTER	LITERATURE	LOVE
MUSIC	NATURE	PASSIONS
PETS	TEACHERS	TRAVEL

SPELLING BEE

By Greta Shope

Nice: 23

Great: 36

Amazing: 45

Genius: 63

Perfect!: 89

ANAGRAMS: FALL FOODS

By Alex Le Sage

UYTRKE

AMH

HQASUS

FNSIUGTF

EKNMPIPIUP

DNBCAEROR

PHSEATMOOSADET

IEEPPPLA

DLACRIPEEP

NWUMIDLELE

SPECANMPPUIIETKLT

YRVGA

WOTESSPEEAOTT

ACEEINPP

LSROL

AMAESHEECDNC

CANDIEDAPPLES

TLEAATHIC

OOOTHELATCHC

BEACYNRUCRARSE

MEARLCA

CONNECTIONS

By Greta Shope

UP	FILTER	PLANT	TAP
SALT	BASE	PEPPER	SHIRT
ANIMAL	QUARTERS	SUGAR	MILK
OIL	SUGAR	MINERAL	FACTORY