Hats Off!

Hats. You either love them or hate them. On some people, they look really cool. I especially liked the fedoras worn by the club kids during the late '70s-early '80s New Wave period. However, hats on me look ridiculous. I feel like I'm wearing a giant bowl on my head. Not to mention the hat hair that follows afterward. However, the extreme cold of this past winter made me cave in and I had to wear hats almost every day. Fortunately, that season will be over soon.

"Hats Entertainment" is the name of today's crossword by Fred Piscop. Here are the theme answers:

20A: #1 song (CHART TOPPER). I used to read Billboard religiously for the charts and listen to "America's Top 40" each week with Kasey Kasem. The show is still on, but it's not the same with Ryan ("I'm everywhere") Seacrest. This week, the #1 hit is "Happy" by Pharrell Williams.

40A: Loan's upper limit (INTEREST RATE CAP).

61A: Kitchenware topper (SAUCEPAN LID)

The Name Game:

14A: Jeopardy! Host Trebek (ALEX). Now in its 50th year--an awesome milestone!
15A: Vampire author Rice (ANNE)
16A: Sing door-to-door in December (CAROL)

X Marks the Spot. There were lots of answers featuring the letter "X" today:

4D: Wield, as influence (EXERT)
10D: Invoice add-on (TAX)
19A: Rust, chemically (OXIDE).
22D: Bonus (EXTRA)
25A: Gen-____ (Boomer's kid) (XER)
59D: MasterCard alternative (AMEX)
71A: Spot-on (EXACT)

Albert Einstein (1879-1955) is the author of today's cryptoquote:

Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new,

Einstein is saying that people are afraid to take risks for fear of failure. Some of the best inventions were created by mistake: the Slinky, chocolate-chip cookies, potato chips, the pacemaker, and much more. You can read all about them in the Business Insider. I do think that people are also afraid to take risks for fear of success. Once a person is successful, he or she is expected to perform better all the time.

Now on to the JUMBLE. Today's is quite morbid. A funeral director is reading a book about life. The caption says "The funeral home director read his book in ______

Word list:

PENIT = INEPT
TOCUS - SCOUT
MAGLEB = GAMBLE
DEHLUD = HUDDLE

Scrambled solution: INESCALEDDE
Solution: DEAD SILENCE

The latest puzzle in Muller's Monthly Music Meta contest is now available. Solution will be published next Tuesday.

Till tomorrow. . . .

Signing off,

The Puzzlechick