| TAXRETURNS | They're filed this time of year, and a hint to portions of the starred answers |
| GAPYEARS | Some breaks in education, and a hint to portions of 1-, 24-, 40- and 51-Across |
| COUNTDOWN | What might end the year, and a hint to five answers in this puzzle |
| YESTERDAY | Head of year and new set ready on the day before today (9) |
| NIXON | Two-time Time Man of the Year (and a hint to 17-, 27-, 41- and 54-Across) |
| CROUCH | Settle around end of year and hunker down (6) |
| DOUBLEDAY | Big name in American book publishing for 120+ years ... and a hint to the answers to the starred clues |
| PUB | Old saying: Norwich has a church for every week of the year and a ... for every day of the year (3) |
| | Trains that might be required if the weather gets bad at this time of year (11) |
| SNL | TV staple for over 30 years (and a hint to 17-, 21-, 32-, 41-, 54- and |
| ASTHEWORLDTURNS | TV soap for 54 years ... and a hint to the puzzle circles |
| DUNMOW | ____ Flitch, a piece of bacon traditionally given in an Essex village to a couple happily married for a year and a day (6) |
| RAMADAN | The 9th month of the Moslem year and a period of fasting |
| SPANISH | At its height, in the late 1700s, this empire included the Philippines and large portions of the Americas. (7) |
| EIGHTEENMONTHS | A year and a half to heighten mens' way of going about (8,6) |
| WHITE | Some of trail's most rugged terrain is in the ___ Mountains of New Hampshire, where portions of the path lie exposed above the tree line (5) |
| TORCHED | Put a flame to portion of Camembert or Cheddar |
| EIGHTEENMO | Size of diary perhaps covering a year and a half |
| YACHT | Year and a century, hard time for a sailor (5) |
| AURORA | "___ borealis? At this time of year? At this time of day? In this part of the country? Localized entirely within your kitchen?" (The Simpsons quote) |
