(JEAN) SHEPHERD, A CHRISTMAS STORY — Families in those days spent their lives eating canned corn, meat loaf, peanut-butter sandwiches, oatmeal, red cabbage and peas.... Great meals... stuck out like icebergs in the Caribbean. Buying a turkey was a state occasion.
| A. | Munchies not always nutritious (2 wds.) | SNACKFOOD |
| B. | Occurring during puberty | HEBETIC |
| C. | Annual path of the sun, as seen from Earth | ECLIPTIC |
| D. | Caltech's home city | PASADENA |
| E. | Author who said "Write drunk; edit sober" | HEMINGWAY |
| F. | N.F.L. team whose mascot is Swoop | EAGLES |
| G. | Truly sorry for one's sins | REPENTANT |
| H. | Organized body of searchable information | DATABASE |
| I. | Expanse called "wine-dark" by Homer (2 wds.) | AEGEANSEA |
| J. | Ideal rule of life for some monks | CELIBACY |
| K. | Constituents of some matches | HUSBANDS |
| L. | Idol of the MTV sort (2 wds.) | ROCKSTAR |
| M. | 1921 Ellis Island offering to all new Americans (2 wds.) | ICECREAM |
| N. | Pests first noted in the U.S. in 1998 (2 wds.) | STINKBUGS |
| O. | Aid for studying a culture (2 wds.) | TESTTUBE |
| P. | Potential cause of a smack | MISTLETOE |
| Q. | Gift in the holiday classic that is the source of this puzzle (2 wds.) | AIRRIFLE |
| R. | Pen pals? | SWINE |
| S. | American League pitcher who won the 2007 Cy Young award | SABATHIA |
| T. | Perfectly aligned | TRUE |
| U. | Sponsor of the old "Captain Midnight" radio show | OVALTINE |
| V. | Having a figure like that of Kriss Kringle | ROTUND |
| W. | Comic who said "Take my wife -- please" | YOUNGMAN |