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Unwrapping the December 25 crossword

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Thomps2525:
Merry Christmas, everyone! Today's crossword is by Nora Pearlstone. The letters in that name can be anagrammed to spell "not a real person." Nora Pearlstone is an alias occasionally used by crossword puzzle editor/creator Rich Norris. The puzzle's title is "Holiday Doings." Grey squares form the shape of a Christmas tree and circled letters at the top spell STAR. Several Christmas-related words and phrases are among the answers, including SANTACLAUS, PRESENTS, ORNAMENTS, GREETINGCARD, REINDEER, OTANNENBAUM and ACHRISTMASCAROL.

"Toledo thing" is COSA. That would be Toledo, Spain -- and the word is not used in English. "L.A.'s ___ Center" is AON. The Aon Center is a 62-story skyscraper whose chief tenant is the Aon Corporation, a London-based insurance brokerage. There is also an Aon Center skyscraper in Chicago. "Spacewalks, briefly" is EVAS. EVA stands for "extra-vehicular activity." If I go for a walk in the park, I guess technically I'm doing an EVA.

The crossword includes three relatively obscure names. "Elements Of Algebra author is EULER. Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler (1707-1783) first published his algebra textbook in German in 1770. It was titled Vollständige Anleitung zur Algebra ("Complete Instruction in Algebra"). English-language translations are still in print in 2016. "Author Yutang" is LIN. Lin Yü-t'ang (1895-1976) was a Chinese-born author, linguist and inventor. Among his best-known books are The Importance Of Living, The Vigil Of A Nation and My Country & My People. "Poet Levertov" is DENISE. Denise Levertov (1923-1997) was a British-born avant-garde poet, essayist and anti-war activist.

http://www.storyofmathematics.com/18th_euler.html

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Lin-Yutang

https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/denise-levertov

Since we're in the middle of Christmas vacation, you might want to wait until January to read the history of those three people. For now, just enjoy the rest of your holiday season.

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