google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Sunday March 29, 2015 Melanie Miller

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Mar 29, 2015

Sunday March 29, 2015 Melanie Miller

 Theme: "Ick Factor" - EW is inserted to each theme answer.

26A. Sign outside the women's locker room? : BEWARE NAKED LADIES. Barenaked Ladies, a Canadian rock band.

41A. Hopper using hops? : BREWER RABBIT. Br'er Rabbit. Uncle Remus.  Also  Spitzboo's favorite molasses brand.

66A. Powerful Persian bloodline? : MEWING DYNASTY. Ming Dynasty. Don't forget Zhou & Qin dynasties. That's how I got my name.

91A. Draft in a moldy basement? : MILDEW BREEZE. Mild breeze.

107A. Stray nut among the Doritos? : CASHEW IN ONE'S CHIPS. Cash in one's chips. I'd love that stray cashew.

15D. Another showing of an Edsel documentary? : LEMON REWIND. Lemon rind. I often wonder why the I has the long vowel sound when the I in "ring" has a short I.

65D. Pulled hamstring, to a hurdler? : DEADLY SINEW. Deadly sin. Which do you think is the deadliest of the deadly sins?

This is a classic word addition theme, with a classic 7-themer in a classic grid arrangement, except the first theme entry starts in Row 4 rather than Row 3.

No shock and awe entries, the fill is extremely smooth. I love Melanie's grids.

Across:
 
1. Trade : SWAP. Easy start.

5. Bestow upon, as a compliment : PAY

8. Increased excessively, with "on" : PILED

13. Back country : WILDS

18. Subject of a memorable chocolate simile : LIFE.  Oh, "Life is like a box of chocolates" from Forrest Gump.
 
19. Sport with four-person teams : POLO

20. Came to : AWOKE

21. Theatrical work : OPERA. I put DRAMA first.

22. Barbecue feature : OPEN GRILL

24. More cordial : NICER

25. Canning tomatoes : ROMAS. Can't wait to start my little garden. No Romas for me though. I like a few cherry tomato plants and beefsteaks.

29. Paper cut cries : OWS

30. High : LOFTY

31. Wooded depression : DELL

32. How the riot act is read : STERNLY

34. Lifeboat item : OAR

37. Beginning of Christmas? : CEE. Christmas.

38. Tiny __ : TIM

39. Gadget in the game Twister : SPINNER

45. Gardner of "The Hucksters" : AVA. Alas, still no DuVernay.

46. Cher's "Burlesque" role : TESS

49. Reason : INFER

50. Auditorium sections : BALCONIES

52. Illegal USMC status : AWOL. Do you like my cap?



53. Pot filler : SOIL

54. Castaway's signal : FLARE

56. Where Yogi naps : DEN. Yogi Bear.

57. Vice president before Gerald : SPIRO

58. Fragrant bloom : LILAC. The smell is a bit strong for me.

60. Excitement : ADO

61. Edison's 1,000-plus : PATENTS. Is that a record?

63. Told too much : OLD. Tricky clue.

70. It's longer than a dit : DAH

71. Finale of Copland's "Rodeo" : HOEDOWN. Got via crosses.

73. Hosp. areas : ERs

74. Wii fanatic, say : GAMER

76. Shaker unit : GRAIN. Salt.

77. __ tai : MAI. Remind me of the lady who mis-ordered "Mai tai" rather than "Pad Thai", Hahtoola!

78. Equine array : GAITS

80. Paintballs, e.g. : AMMO

84. Fizzles out : ENDS. I tried DIES first.

85. Fire sign? : ALARM BELL. Nice clue/answer.

88. Inflict : WREAK

89. Sushi options : EELS. Unagi! By the way, what's your favorite giardiniera brand? Please share if you have a simple recipe. 

90. Black batt. terminal : NEG

94. "Wanna bet?" : YES IT IS

97. Academic no. : GPA

98. Full Sail or Harpoon product : ALE. Not familiar with the two brewers.

99. Title stuffed bear in a 2012 comedy : TED. Never saw the movie.


100. Squat hounds : BASSETS

102. Red Carpet stance : POSE

104. Rotisserie league data : STATS. Fantasy baseball

106. Israeli machine gun : UZI

113. Total : RUN TO

115. Naps, maybe : LOLLS. Not equivalent to me.

116. Athenian landmark : PARTHENON

117. Gussy up : PREEN. We had a big mirror in our tiny college dorm, shared by 5 girls.

118. Some map dots : ISLES

119. Olympian chariot rider : ARES

120. Real estate division : ACRE

121. Repaired, in a way : SEWED

122. Bothersome : PESTY. I use PESKY.

123. Was in the driver's seat : LED

124. Dieter's data : FATS

Down:

1. Hardly a pick-up expert? : SLOB. Ha ha.

2. Cleaning cloth : WIPE

3. Rough quantity : A FEW

4. __ colony : PENAL

5. Tip : POINTER

6. Temper : ALLAY. Verb.

7. Crème brûlée ingredient : YOLK. Exciting to see it prepared by the table.


8. Considerable outbreak : PANDEMIC

9. Cooperative words : I WILL

10. Hometown folks : LOCALS

11. Managed with difficulty, with "out" : EKED

12. Disdainful : DERISIVE

13. Slip : WORSEN

14. NYSE event : IPO

16. Matthew McConaughey has one : DRAWL. Indeed. He has very pronounced Southern drawl.

17. Nervy : SASSY

19. Want more : PREFER

23. Seller of staples : GROCER

27. Safe to have : EDIBLE. Raw honey is one of the poisonous foods in Dave's link last week. I have it almost daily. Mine is from Trader Joe's.

28. Former lab burners : ETNAS

33. Prepare to paint again : RE-TAPE

34. Kimono holders : OBIS

35. It occasionally floods Florence : ARNO

36. Mtge. adjustment : RE-FI

38. Lift not as common as it used to be : T-BAR.  What's the common lift nowadays, then, Marti?

40. Tylenol target : PAIN. Safe for Dave.

42. Fit as a fiddle : WELL

43. Summers in China? : ABACI. Gimme. Abacus sums, hence summer.

44. Tom and Jerry, e.g. : TODDY

47. Partially, casually : SORTA

48. Spill clumsily : SLOSH

51. Hard-to-miss sign : NEON. Like this one in Vegas.



54. Zoomed : FLEW

55. Estate highlight, often : LAWN

57. Lid inflammation : STYE

59. "__ a mission" : I'M ON

60. Some magazine spreads : ADs

61. Coll. prep test : PSAT

62. Some drive-thrus : ATMs

63. "That's a surprise" : OH GEE

64. Greene of the original "Battlestar Galactica" series : LORNE

67. Move in on : NEAR.

68. "The Frog Prince" byline : GRIMM

69. Like gymnasts : AGILE

72. Trash-talks : DISSES

75. Not at all typical : RARE. One of Boomer's bowling buddies has a 1954 Mickey Mantle & 1955 Jackie Robinson.

77. Wise men : MAGI

78. Ballpoint alternative : GEL PEN

79. "The Blacklist" actor : ALDA

81. Gather : MEET

82. Cornfield attraction : MAZE

83. Accepted : OK'ED

85. Santa __ Derby : ANITA

86. Accidentally reveals : LETS SLIP

87. Fraidy cat : BIG SISSY. Only used "Sissy" before.

88. "That sav'd a __ like me!": "Amazing Grace" : WRETCH

92. Filled with tears : WATERED

93. Denounces : BLASTS

95. Duel attendant : SECOND.  It's fun to trick others with "Second" in DUEL clue.

96. Bouts : SPELLS

100. Goals of some back pats : BURPS

101. Poetic blue : AZURE

103. Young barn dweller : OWLET

104. Trap : SNARE

105. Bound bunch : SHEAF

108. Washer part : HOSE

109. Abundant gemstone Down Under : OPAL

110. Old empire builder : INCA

111. Vancouver, for one : PORT

112. Sega competitor in the 16-bit market : SNES (Super Nintendo Entertainment System)

114. Ball holder : TEE

C.C.


43 comments:

Argyle said...

99-Across Picture

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Ugh, IMDb again, Santa, I should never use their pictures. They're fine in Draft, but always fail to show up when the post is published.

Anonymous T said...

No time to play yet (up late working on a talk I hafta present and got distracted) said...

Barenaked Ladies: One Week biggest hit. If you've never heard them, they're pretty good and funny. Cheers, -T

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

I got the theme early on at BREWER RABBIT and enjoyed it for the most part. I wasn't happy with some of the cluing today, however. For example, I really struggled to get YES IT IS from "Wanna bet?" since the two phrases seem to be opposites to me. A lot of other clues seemed overly cute or obscure without being funny, and I'm still wondering what Tom & Jerry have to do with TODDY. Are we talking the cat and mouse here, or is there some sort of late night drink called a Tom & Jerry? Wither way, I got it via the perps and was sure it was wrong, exept that it wasn't.

NE corner was the last to fall. Really wanted WEEDS instead of WILDS and it took until the bitter end to finally think of WORSEN for "Slip" (an example of one of the obscure clues I was talking about). LEMON RIND is not something that's familiar to me, so that also took awhile.

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

Very nearly a DNF today. The trouble was Lorne Greene: I had no idea he was in Battlestar Galactica, and somehow thought it was impossible. Eventually perps forced the issue.

Another problem was deadly sin as the theme root. I didn't know there were deadly sins - is that an official Catholic thing? A bit out of my area...

Morning C.C., your Navy cap looks smart, and warm! I never saw the movie Ted either, and wonder whether it's worth getting on Netflix.

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Tough, tough, tough! I don't think my brain woke up when I did this morning. I got it all, but it turned into a slog.

C.C., I'm with you on the PESTY/pesky issue. Who gave you the Navy cap? The uniform Navy watch-cap didn't have any lettering on it.

PARTHENON was a gimme; that's the name of my street. The geographically-challenged founding fathers tried to come up with Roman street names in our town. So we've also got Catacombs, Gladiator and Constantine (which they misspelled on the street signs as "Constatine"). I probably should be living on Pantheon Place.

Dudley, I think there are supposed to be seven deadly sins, but don't ask me what they are. Here'e something about Commander Adama.

HeartRx said...

Morning, C.C.!

Love the cap - did not know it was a navy cap until Dudley mentioned it.

T-bars are still very much in use in the Alps, especially on the glaciers where the snow pack does not allow for the large base needed for a chairlift or gondola. But it's true they are not used so much in the US, having been replaced mostly by chairlifts.

Loved this puzzle and all the EW additions. CASHEW showed up in the NYT puzzle today as well, but with the CA being added to "shew."

Have a relaxing day,everyone!

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Dudley,
I heard that "Gilligan's Island" characters represent 7 deadly sins. For example: Ginger = Lust. You prefer Ginger, right?

D-Otto,
I got it at the new Surplus Store in our neighborhood. They have all kinds of cool stuff. Quite pricey though.

Barry G. said...

I'm not Catholic, but the seven "deadly" sins are as follows:

Lust
Gluttony
Greed
Sloth
Wrath
Envy
Pride

I never understood what was supposed to be so deadly about them, though. Why not murder or blasphemy?

Nice cap, C.C.! Didn't have time to read through the whole blog earlier this morning. Also, hand up for PESKY before PESTY.

Lemonade714 said...

Looking good C.C., both you and the cap.

You are right that is impossible to give a reasonable, helpful explanation to how we say RIND and WIND which can be both long and short sounds. I go through this with Oo all the time.

I really enjoyed the theme but there were some tough fill for me, HOEDOWN, TESS and ARES as clued come to mind. I did know Full Sail and Harpoon thanks to my sons.

My Thai wife likes Mai Tais.

Great week all

Big Easy said...

Took a little extra time this morning but figured out the theme on BREWER RABBIT. The extra EW helped move it faster than it was going. C.C. I need caps like yours to cover my bald head and keep it from getting sunburned.

I had some trouble in the SW and SE. I had BUSTS for BURPS, thinking of a drug bust pat-down and the 'Told too much' clue was a great one that had me puzzled for a while. SNES was unknown and it took some time for BLASTS and WRETCH to come to my brain.

Other clues that were giving me fits was "Summers in China" and "Tom and Jerry". ABACI I have heard of but not the drink.

Unknown said...

The Week in Review: M 10:24 T 6:00 W 7:10 T 9:20 F 18:36 S 20:40 S 30:07

Monday: BLEH

Friday: I couldn't get the two upper theme fills until I noticed that "ANG" was in the two lower theme fills. That did the trick. But it took a few minutes after the "TaDa!" to see the backwards GNATs.

Saturday: Another Saturday roller coaster with the DNF cloud always looming. But I WAGged and perped my way to a single empty square. I didn't know the Indian lentil dish and had KOS so I tried a humiliating keyboard run to finish "__ALOREY". No luck. Then I figured the "ring" might not be a boxing ring, changed the "O" to a "T", and Roger DALTREY jumped right out at me. Sometimes I think I solve these puzzles like Tommy plays pinball: by sense of smell.

Sunday: A great, meaty puzzle. Picking up on the "EW" theme definitely helped.

Flurries yesterday. We're still waiting for Spring here in the mid-Hudson valley.

See y'all next weekend.

Anonymous T said...

C.C. Your hat (and you!) look great.

Barry G. I am Catholic, but can't get 'em quite right:

Lust - check (DW is a hottie!)
Gluttony - bzzt (I loves me some food, but I stop when full)
Greed - bzzt (I have what I need)
Sloth - bzzt (I want to be like
Maynard G.
Work?)
Wrath - bzzt - Khan does it right
Envy - check (of anyone who can solve a Sat)
Pride - check (I take pride in all I try)

For the record, Mary Ann.

I must sleep.
Cheers, -T

Anonymous said...

"That's a surprise" : OH GEE"

So...

nobody's got a problem with this one?

desper-otto said...

Barry and Big Easy -- a "Tom and Jerry" is a traditional Christmas drink. It's basically a "stiff" eggnog made with rum and cognac and served hot. It's what you'd serve when someone came to visit to see your tree.

Dudley said...

D Otto 7:33 - nope, don't remember the role. As I recall I saw the original Battlestar movie, but not the follow on TV series, so maybe that's the reason. BG never caught my interest. In my universe, everything after Star Trek was just a "me too!"

C.C. 8:00 - definitely Mary Ann. Ginger was all svelte and attractive, sure, but Mary Ann would be much better to bring home to Mom.

Barry G. 8:12 - I don't get it either.

D Otto 10:09 - I've never had a Tom and Jerry, but it sounds wonderful. I'm willing to come see your tree...

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

This was a pretty straightforward Sunday solve, with an early-recognizable theme. Never heard of a Tom and Jerry drink, so, a learning moment there. Also not familiar with SNES.

Bare Naked Ladies wrote and perform the theme song of TBBT. Dudley, from what I remember of the reviews for the movie, Ted, it's pretty much filled with the foul language and gross humor that Seth MacFarland is noted for. I like Matthew McConaughey as an actor but I think those ads he's in for for Lincoln cars are strange.

Thank you, Melanie, for a fun and enjoyable offering
and thank you, CC, for a concise and informative wrap-up. You look mighty jaunty in your new cap!

Have a great day.

Anonymous Answerer said...

Tom and Jerry

JJM said...

I too did not get the meaning of TODDY??

Didn't get the connection between DEADLY SIN (EW) and pulled hammy.

Barry G: You have to go thru 16 years of Catholic School to REALLY understand Catholic Guilt. I'm an expert

Here's my absolute favorite Gardinera (I prefer the relish type)

http://dellalpe.elsstore.com/shop/product_view2.asp?id=325255&StoreID=6AAACB6289F34F06A2F4A5953950599D&CategoryID=40979

Argyle said...

ty, aa.

Barry G. said...

Anonymous at 9:35 had trouble understanding a clue? OH GEE, I never would have guessed. What a surprise...

^_^

I kid, of course, but I didn't have a problem with that. It helps to think of both "what a surprise" and OH GEE as being said sarcastically.

I'm still trying to figure out how "Wanna bet" can mean YES IT IS (although I'm to see that I'm not the only one, Dudley).

And thanks to all for the explanation for Tom & Jerry. Although I grew up celebrating Christmas, we didn't have alcohol in our house and therefore I remained blissfully unaware of any traditional Christmas drinks aside from straight eggnog and mulled cider.

Hmmmmm... OK, I think I can rationalize "Wanna bet?" with YES IT IS. I was thinking of "Wanna bet?" as a negative assertion, claiming that something isn't the case (and therefore the exact opposite of YES IT IS). But I suppose it also works to challenge somebody else's negative assertion to reassert your original claim. So, if I said, say, "The Nile is the world's longest river" and somebody else said, "No it isn't," I guess I could respond with "Wanna bet?" to reassert that YES, IT IS.

Anonymous T said...

JJM:

Yep - I've got >16 years of guilt under my belt...

Here's your link Giardiniera (hot) is wonderful. C, -T

SwenglishMom said...

I didn't like Ted the movie at all. Lots of bad words and humor that didn't make it with me or my girls. Had to turn it off.

The deadly sins are deadly because they specifically kill virtue, the virtue found if you do the opposite of each sin.

The Seven Contrary Virtues which are specific opposites to the Seven Deadly Sins: Humility against pride, Kindness (also joy for others' fortune) against envy, Abstinence against gluttony, Chastity (or maybe love) against lust, Patience against anger, Liberality (or I would say generosity) against greed, and Diligence (or perhaps just being active) against sloth.

Not a catholic but used this approach in my 12 step recovery to much advantage. If you are able to see the value of being a good person without needing the steps then my hat is off to you!

C.C.'s picture is sooooo great. She has a superstar image for sure.

SwenglishMom

Manac said...

OOOH! Mary Ann, hands down! Or all over as the case may be.

We Catholics have it made.
First we can commit a sin.

Then we get to confess that
we didn't do it.

Have a great day everybody.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Afternoon, C.C., and friends. I struggled with this puzzle. After seeing the title was ICK Factor, I was initially looking for ICK to appear in each theme answer. I got BEWARE NAKED LADIES on the second pass, and still missed the theme.

The 1967 film Bedazzled, starring Dudley Moore and Peter Cook was about the 7 Deadly Sins.

Hand up for Dies before ENDS for Fizzles.

One need not to go to Greece to see the PARTHENON. There's one in Nashville!

My favorite clue was Pot Filler = SOIL. My first thought, however, was Ante because i was thinking of a game of cards.

QOD: The first and worst of all frauds is to cheat one’s self. All sin is easy after that. ~ Pearl Bailey (Mar. 29, 1918 ~ Aug. 17, 1990)

Argyle said...

But what sin would Mary Ann represent?

Anonymous said...

Manac, we don't confess that we didn't do it, we own up to it and ask for forgiveness.

It's easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission!

I remember back in elementary school when they lined us up to face the priest, i would run through my mind what I was going to fess up to in front of the Father. "Ok, I was mean to my sister, lied to my parents, cheated on a test, shot the clerk etc., etc." About 8th grade they gave us the choice of conessing behind the screen or sit face to face with the priest. I always chose the former.

Google said...

Gilligan's Isle

Jayce said...

Jealousy, although perhaps not one of the deadly sins, is extremely destructive.
By the way, 7 Deadly Zins is a pretty nice wine.
Favorite clue:answer is Goals of some back pats:BURPS. Bound bunch:SHEAF is second favorite.
The OPAL made me change ACROPOLIS to PARTHENON.
"Let's WIND things up out here before the WIND gets too strong."
I like your cap, C.C. Your smile, too.
I have always said 'pesky,' never PESTY.
Hand up for entering DIES before ENDS.
I confess, I mis-read the 90A clue as "Black butt terminal" at first. Then I cleaned my glasses.
BASSET hounds are so cute! And noisy!
Best wishes to you all.

Anonymous said...

Envy = Jealousy

Anonymous said...

For those of you who care about such things:

ACPT 2015 Results

It neat for me to scan the rankings(link in left sidebar) for names I recognize. A few years ago before I discovered this blog, I knew nothing of crossword construction nor the constructors. Now I've watched "Wordplay" and even corresponded with a few constructors. Mucho respecto, fellow cruciverbalists!

Jerome said...

CHEWER- Nail biting pop diva whose first hit was "I GOT EW Babe"

Lemonade714 said...

jerome:

Spot on.

Anon whp posted the ACPT results, thank you. This world is filled with interestin g people. You can read about many of them with C.C.'s wonderfule interviews.

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Fun puzzle, but I say "EW" to some of the fills others have mentioned. I couldn't have done this one without red letter redirects.

I vote we all go to see D-O's tree and have some Tom & Jerry's.

C.C., your cap is cute but I most envy your lovely trim figure.

Greed & envy in a family dynamic can indeed be deadly. I had a couple of sisters-in-law (on my husband's side) who personified these evils. Two of the reasons I moved to the city.

Husker Gary said...

Medical issues slowed me down today but I got all but the LORNE (not Loren), GRAIN (not Quaker Coven), EELS (not Roes) for 5 bad cells. My bad!

Musings
-Fun and helpful theme
-Lame Nebraska NICE motto
-Great picture C.C.!
-The SS California crew saw the RMS Titanic’s FLARES but the captain took no action
-Too tired for much else today

Yellowrocks said...

I have been visiting my son, DIL and grandson this wonderful weekend.
I conquered this puzzle, albeit with a longer time than normal. I liked the concept and wonder whether BEWARE NAKED LADIES was the seed entry.
Here are some reasons why the spelling of English is so strange and not standardized.
Link reasons

Funny example:"Ough''A Phonetic Fantasy by William Thomas Goodge

The baker-man was kneading dough
And whistling softly, sweet and lough.
Yet ever and anon he'd cough
As though his head were coming ough!
"My word!" said he," but this is rough:
This flour is simply awful stough!"
He punched and thumped it through and through,
As all good bakers dough!
" I'd sooner drive," said he " a plough
Than be a baker anyhough!"
Thus spake the baker kneading dough;
But don't let on I told you sough!

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Great puzzle, Melanie! Loved the theme!

Swell expo, CC! You look great! Your figure is to be envied!

I, too, turned off the movie Ted after a bit.

Had dies before ENDS.

Had a good swim today. Now to finish preparing the !@#$% taxes for the CPA.

Cheers!

fermatprime said...

YR: Love the poem!

Anonymous said...

Toublesome? Yeah, PESKY, not PESTY. TESTY, maybe.

The past tense of OK is OK'D (OKD in a crossword puzzle), not OKED.

Yellowrocks said...

Mosquitos are pesky. Dennis the Menace is pesty, a big pest.

Anonymous T said...

Well, after reading the blog today, the puzzle for my "me" time was easy! Thanks M.M. and C.C.

YR - thanks for that link. I think they over-simplified it, but, yeah, the great thing about English (as hard as it is even for a native of the language to get) is that it absorbs so much and just kinda works. I didn't think about it much, but DW has a PhD in English and the more I learned the more I became fascinated by the language.

An aside: When DW stared on her dissertation, I purchased a 4" binder, a ream of paper, and a 3-hole punch. I gifted her with an "Instant Dissertation Kit: Just add words! Colon included. American English Edition with 40% fewer Us!"

I loved reading Will Safire and Bill Bryson talk about words.

English permeates because it is the lingua franca (how'd that get in there?) of business and a hellava lotta fun to play with. C, -T

Bill G. said...

AnonT, I love your dissertation gift. What did you wife think of it? Did she finally get started or did she just sit and STARE? :>)

I like both of the guys in your links, Safire and Bryson. I am starting to watch them after I finish typing these pithy remarks.

Abejo said...

Good Monday morning, folks. Thank you, Melanie Miller, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, C.C., for a fine review.

Liked your photo C.C. Nice cap.

Started this puzzle as I was watching the NCAA games on Sunday. Both my teams went down in flames, Louisville and Gonzaga.

Worked on this most of the afternoon and evening, on and off. At 1:30 AM, I stopped and went to bed. Finished this morning after a short night's sleep. I may take a nap later.

Took me a while to catch the theme, but once I had it, it made the puzzle easier.

C.C., I do not plant ROMAS either, but I have over 100 tomatoes started. Big Boy, Brandy Boy, and Beefsteak. Can't wait to plant outside. With this weather, who knows when?

Liked OWLET as a young barn dweller. Took me a while to get that one.

My last area to finish was the NW corner. GROCER and OPEN GRILL got me started there.

Now I can get something done now that this puzzle is out of the way. It was tough, but I did enjoy it.

See you on Tuesday.

Abejo

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