Sun, 21 December

solstice, n. 1. The moment a planet's axial tilt reaches its maximum inclination toward its star, producing the longest photoperiod of the orbital year. 2. (Southern Hemisphere, informal) A Sunday in December when you stand at the kitchen bench at half six, peeling carrots into a colander, and the light outside refuses to commit — neither bright nor dark, just held — while inside, the oil in the pan reaches the exact temperature where an onion, dropped in, speaks back. 3. (archaic) The hinge. From Latin sol (sun) + sistere (to stand still). Cf. the ten seconds between placing all the plates on the table and someone sitting down. 4. (Christchurch, colloquial) Cloud cover so total it becomes its own weather. See also: diffuse. See also: the way roots keep working underground when everything above them has gone grey.