Football
Change the last 4 letters in "touchdown" to get this word for a kickoff that isn't returned from the end zone.
touchback
The music of this Tchaikovsky "Suite" comes from his 1892 ballet, popular at Christmas.
“The Nutcracker”
He penned the Declaration of Independence.
Thomas Jefferson
As a noun, this word can refer to a hairstyle or a piece of fishing gear.
bob
His first published novel, "The Notebook", was inspired by the relationship of his wife's grandparents.
Nicholas Sparks
These "penalties" are simultaneous violations by the offense & defense that cancel each other out.
offsetting penalties
This Austrian child prodigy began composing minuets when he was only 5.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
This treaty, signed in 1783, officially ended the Revolutionary War.
the Treaty of Paris
This is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle.
kayak
This author of 1902's "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" was also a noted conservationist.
Beatrix Potter
Baylor ended up in better hands than Ole Miss in the 88th Sugar Bowl (2022) underwritten by this insurance company.
Allstate
This German composer's 5th Symphony in C Minor has a famous opening.
Ludwig van Beethoven
This famous 1777 battle was considered a “turning point” in the war.
the Battle of Saratoga
This word can mean ‘an act or action’ or ‘a legal document that is signed and delivered, especially one regarding the ownership of property or legal rights’.
deed
In this author’s fictional Middle Earth, Mordor is Sauron's headquarters.
J. R. R. Tolkien
This Texas NFL team won 3 Super Bowls in the 1990s
the Cowboys
Music from his "Thus Spake Zarathustra" became especially popular after it was featured in the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey".
Richard Strauss
This famous American spy is credited with saying, "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country,” before he was hanged by the British without trial in 1776.
Nathan Hale
This is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance, angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site.
radar
She created fictional mystery writer Ariadne Oliver, author of "The Affair of the Second Goldfish".
Agatha Christie
A sixth-round draft pick in 2000, this Michigan man found a bit of success as a QB for the Patriots
Tom Brady
His composing sons fanned out across Europe, from C.P.E. in Prussia to Johann Christian in London
Johann Sebastian Bach
The colonists called the laws that were passed by the British to punish them after the Boston Tea Party this.
“Intolerable Acts” (Coercive Acts)
The Oxford English Dictionary calls this palindrome "an expression of interrogation"; it's often used to mean "what?"
‘huh’
Outside the Ansonia, Connecticut Public Library, a memorial fountain & horse trough honors this "Black Beauty" author.
Anna Sewell