Theme: FORTISSIMO (63. Very loud, musically ... its symbol hints at four puzzle answers) - Each theme entry is in the pattern of F* F*.
17A. Concern after heavy rain: FLASH FLOOD.
23A. Like G-rated movies: FAMILY-FRIENDLY.
39A. Shore dinner: FISH FRY.
52A. American Revolution leader: FOUNDING FATHER.
Boomer here.
Yabba
Dabba Dooo! Fred Flintstone would love this puzzle! And I have to tip
my hat to the Minnesota Gophers on Saturday. They played 60 minutes of
Fantastic Football at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison Wisconsin and
brought Paul Bunyan's Axe home Finally after Fifteen years of
Frustration.
Across:
1. Identical: SAME.
5. "Mountain" soft drinks: DEWS. Diet Pepsi is my favorite. Dew is too tart.
9. Burn the midnight oil at college: CRAM. Did you see the Rams vs. Chiefs last week ?
13. Urgent request: PLEA. Not Guilty
14. Forgo the church ceremony: ELOPE. Go to Nevada, they have the weakest laws.
16. Lo-cal: LITE. Diet Pepsi
19. Inflated ones often clash: EGOS. Lego my EGO,
20. Kinda: SORTA. This is Sorta Notta Word.
21. Airport near Tel Aviv: LOD.
22. Isn't feeling up to par: AILS. FRED FUNK has not been up to par for a few years.
27. Natural soother: ALOE. Aloe, Aloe, Would you like some of my tangerine ?
28. Salon jobs: SETS. Tennis matches.
29. Singer Jimmy or actor James: DEAN. I was only 8 years old when James died in a car wreck. I remember Jimmy selling sausage, I didn't know he could sing.
32. Litter member or user: CAT. In the cradle.
34. Sewn connections: SEAMS.
38. Bruins legend: ORR. The greatest offensive defenseman who ever played the game.
42. "Not happenin'": NAH.
43. Pace for Paganini: TEMPO. A Ford in the 1990's. Never was a popular as the Mustang,
45. Noon on a garden dial: XII.
46. Like Godiva: BARE. Seventeen, a beauty queen, she made a ride, that caused a scene.
47. Choir voice: ALTO. A bit lower than soprano.
50. Tool for a duel: EPEE.
58. Woman's name often spelled without its "e": ANNE.
59. Progressive spokeswoman: FLO. There were FLO FLASHBACKS on the final "Alice" episode.
60. Airport concern: DELAY. George said "Answer the phone 'Van Delay Industries'"
62. Multi-platinum Diamond: NEIL. "Sweet Caroline" was my favorite. Later in life he said it was about Caroline Kennedy. I have my doubts.
66. Boarding site: GATE.
67. Cosmologist Carl: SAGAN.
68. Chicago commuter system, familiarly: THE L.
I have not spent a lot of time in Chicago, but I always thought it was
called the "EL" Short for Elevated Railway. Maybe TTP will know for
sure.
69. Snow conveyance: SLED. With a little old driver so lively and quick. I knew in a moment it must be Saint Nick.
70. Earns after taxes: NETS.
71. Doomed: SUNK. LeBron has SUNK many rubber balls into those NETS
Down:
1. Sun protection nos.: SPFS.
2. __ a sudden: ALL OF.
3. Stiller's partner: MEARA. Tiger's buddy MARK O'
4. __ Kodak: EASTMAN. "I've got a Nikon Camera, Gonna take a photograph, mama don't take my Kodachrome away."
5. Bit of OED info: DEF.
6. Building add-on: ELL. What might you call the add-on if it is round ??
7. Literary Virginia: WOOLF. Who's afraid of her?
8. Clues for a bloodhound: SPOORS.
9. Detox diet: CLEANSE.
10. Unbending: RIGID.
11. Coral island: ATOLL. Price for driving on a busy highway
12. Having lots of loose ends: MESSY.
15. Vedder of Pearl Jam: EDDIE.
18. Flag down, as a cab: HAIL.
24. Focuses of activity: LOCI.
25. Passing words?: YEAS.
26. Website for handmade art: ETSY. Possible Mississippi Senator? Find out tomorrow.
29. Morse code unit: DOT. Hi and Lois' twin daughter. (Ditto's sister)
30. Palindromic "before": ERE. And I heard him exclaim ere he drove out of site.
31. Drew Brees' asset: ARM. The LAW has a long one.
33. Texter's gratitude: THX. "Thanks for the Memories" Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Bing Crosby, you pick.
35. Gasteyer of "SNL": ANA.
36. Draw graffiti on, say: MAR.
37. Noted seashell seller: SHE. I wonder how many she sold. You can pick them up for free.
39. Decide not to call, in poker: FOLD. Aces and Eights are not enough.
40. Feudal holding: FIEF.
41. Seacrest morning co-host: RIPA. Kelly jumped from "All my Children" soap to morning show host.
44. Like some den walls: PANELED.
46. Directives: BEHESTS.
48. Spats: TIFFS.
49. Borrowed, as a library book: ON LOAN.
51. Predicted takeoff hrs.: ETDS.
52. Dracula's canines: FANGS.
53. Tatum or Ryan: ONEAL. "Paper Moon." Tatum was great but is Tatum really a girl's name?
54. Bring together: UNITE.
55. New York's Ausable Chasm, e.g.: GORGE. I am thinking Colorado has better ones.
56. Yale founder Yale: ELIHU.
57. Budget noodle dish: RAMEN.
61. Egg-white omelet's lack: YOLK. What did the farmer say when he dropped an egg on a hen. "That's a yolk on you".
64. Bit of body ink: TAT. You get these free before your radiation treatment.
65. Shoo-__: easy winners: INS.
Boomer
40 comments:
Boomer once again your write-up is the highlight of a Monday solve. Love all the additional FF references you threw in, especially Fred Funk famous for wearing a skirt. The VIDEO is worth watching if only for the really funny DF comment from TIGER WOODS .
Did not remember The FORD TEMPO and looking at how ugly it was, I realize why.
Thanks Pamela, nice to see you back. Keept it up Boomer and I hope you all did not Ausable Chasm: GORGE yourselves over the holiday.
Good Monday Cornies.
Thank you Ms. Pam Amick Klawitter for this easy Monday CW. I FIR in 19:22 min..
Thank you Boomer for your informative review. I pray for your recovery, and for C.C. to have the strength to support you.
FLN Famous people at LIA:
I saw Col. Harland Sanders a couple of times. I helped Muhammad Ali, and his wife Lonnie, and on two occasions Chaka Khan, Yvette Marie Stevens through the airport. She even gave me a hug.
Ðave
Nice n easy Monday start.
Thanx Pam and Boomer.
FIR but had to scratch my head awhile after I
spelled YOKE when it needed to be YOLK.
Only MESSY spot was the LK write over.
Caught the FF early but don’t get how FORTISSIMO plays into it.
I challenge Lady Godiva to ride her horse through town BARE back today . Brrrr
Oh yeah the musical ff symbol duh! Doh!
Good Morning, Boomer and friends. Fun Monday puzzle. Several answers were filled in before I read the clue.
I wanted Lady Godiva to be Nude. I knew she couldn't be Naked. Finally I realized that she was simply BARE.
The LOD Airport is now known as the Ben Gurion International Airport. The name was changed in 1973 in honor of David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first Prime Minister.
Many airports have experienced numerous DELAYs this week due to the storm in the mid-west.
I think it is a bit creepy that Neil Diamond says Sweet Caroline was inspired by Caroline Kennedy ~ she was only 11 when the song was released in 1969.
QOD: I promise there’ll be a tomorrow. It’s already tomorrow in Australia. ~ Charles Schultz (Nov. 26, 1922 ~ Feb. 12, 2000)
Good morning!
Nice effing puzzle, Pam. Tried OTT before ORR elbowed in. Otherwise, this was a smooth slide to the bottom. Enjoyed your expo, Boomer. I hope those treatments are doing some good.
DEAN: Before he sold sausage, Jimmy Dean had his own TV show. And before that, he had a hit record..."Every mornin' at the mine you could see him arrive, he stood six-foot-six and weighed two-forty-five." He was more narrator than singer.
FLO: Hate those commercials, but I wound up buying a Progressive policy this past summer after being jacked around by my former insurer.
THX: George Lucas came up with this "standard" for movie audio playback. It consisted of three point sources across the front, two or more unfocused rear speakers to "wash" along the sides, plus an LFE (low frequency effects) channel. The standard never really caught on (probably because manufacturers had to pay a licensing fee to use the THX brand), but those basic design ideas continue to live on in today's home theater installations.
Good Morning.
It's a snowy one here. Not as much as predicted for us north of Chicago, but probably pretty dangerous as there are quite a few layers of precipitation: rain, sleet, snow, and all over again. Pretty windy all night. I don't have to be to school for my study table until 2:00. It might settle down by then for my five minute trip.
Thanks, Pam. Another great write-up, Boomer. Thanks so much.
I'm with Hahtoolah, both on Lady Godiva as nude before BARE--and Sweet Caroline (?!). I had a hard time with SETS when dyes and cuts didn't work. I never see sets where I go for my cuts--only blow drys.
Have a cozy day. I see this storm is heading east. Get your woolies out!
Good Morning:
This was a typical Monday walk in the park with two unknowns: Lod and Ana, as clued. Thought of CED at Cat and now wonder where he has been. Also, Jinx was United after he was Untied. I caught the theme early but the reveal was a surprise.
Nice way to start the week, Pam, and thanks, Boomer, for your fast and furious one-liners; you were in fabulous fettle this morning. Thinking of you and CC.
FLN
Anonymous T, your mention of De Niro is coincidental as it was just announced that he and his wife of 19 (?) years are divorcing. I believe they have two children. BTW, did you live in NYC at that time? I thought you were strictly Illinois and then Texas.
Have a great day.
FIR, but (like Hahtoolah and MDF) was nude before I was BARE. If I had hair, it would have had dyes before it had SETS. I'm afraid that I had wolfe before WOOLF. My hound smelled scents before SPOORS. Hams who pound out code use TnX instead of THX, "n" being shorter than "h" ("-." vs "...."). We also use dits and dahs, not dots and dashes. My ELI ended in AS before HU. I ate RAMaN before RAMEN. (Actually, I flip-flopped to Fiddle Faddle for my favorite food. Fine fare!)
D-O, har har @ nice effing puzzle. I suppose that Jimmy Dean was the first rapper.
Hahtoolah, I agree that writing that song for an eleven year old is creepy. Who does he think he is, Woody Allen?
My favorite GORGE is on Kentucky's Red River. Runner up is New River GORGE in WV.
Thanks to Pam for the fun puzzle. It was difficult for me for an early-week challenge. And thanks to Boomer for the fun review. You continue to inspire.
Figuring fast fun today! We are in the frozen area this morning but just enough
south that it started rain and switched to snow. We had little accumulation because it
was over 60 the 2 days before- so the warm ground melted what came down.
Boomer's write-up was amusing as always! Thanks Pam
and happy birthday Picard!
First had LOt (the Polish airline) before LOD
Ithaca NY put out bumper stickers that said “Ithaca is GORGEs.” They lead from Cornell University (far above Cayuga’s waters) down the hills to Cayuga Lake
Good morning everyone.
Happy Birthday, Picard. Hope you had a special day.
Easy enough solve. Don't quite know how FORTISSIMO gets us into the double F's of the theme fill, but there were enough F's to go around.
GORGE - Ausable Chasm is tributary to Lake Champlain. I have visited it and it had a relatively easy hike through it.
DEW - Easy - - one of our bridge players favors Mountain DEW. One favors Diet Cola, the doctor favors beer, and I drink water.
Passed thru Natick, MA, on Friday. Thought of all you Gals and Guys in puzzledom.
20A: I think SORTA & GONNA should be in the dictionary, as well as COULDA WOULDA SHOULDA.
Nice Monday puzzle by Pam. Boomer led us through the grid and added the whipped cream and cherry on top of Pam's Monday "Sundae"
My only problem area was the SE corner. I wanted EDICTS instead of BEHESTS, but it wasn't long enough. RAMaN vs RAMEN, and I initially misspelled YOLK as YOKE. Not the right kind of YOLK. Perps took care of my missteps.
It's National Cake Day, so everyone should enjoy a slice if you can. Especially Picard.
Easy peasy this morning which was appreciated after my long absence from crosswording. I spent a looong weekend with my daughter and her family. They don’t a newspaper and I’ve never figured out how to find the puzzles online. I had very little free time anyway with all the kids around. Fun!
Thanks, Pam for the entertainment. And thanks Boomer, for the extra ff ‘s. Can we all stop shouting now!?
Musings
-I sing ƒƒ
-SPO_RS/L_D - Learning is allowed on Monday
-Reading the write-up and comments, it appears I alone did not have the scent of SPOORS!
-FISH FRY’s are Lenten Catholic Cash Cows
-Mt. DEW that won’t keep you up
-Leave it to Boomer to mention someone else’s AILS
-CLEANSE? That’s getting ready for a colonoscopy
-I think a TAT can MAR someone’s appearance
-Tatum O’NEAL at 10
Just for you, Husker Gary.
Marvelous Monday. Thanks for the fun, Pam and Boomer.
I'm back after a busy weekend and my tiredness was showing this morning. I got the theme (my music background gave me FORTISSIMO and I went back to find all the FFs.
But I flamed out in the centre when I had Hold instead of FOLD (did not see that fill as part of the theme duh!) and Tnx instead of THX (my texting is lacking!). So, a FIW today.
The O in the cross of SPOORS and LOD was a WAG. (Hello Husker G)
I found it odd that clue for 24D used Focuses not Foci, when it was obviously the noun (not verb) form, and the answer used the Latin LOCI. But I do think that Foci would have given it away.
SPF seemed odd in plural but I'll allow a bye here too.
12D "having lots of loose ends" = MESSY reminded me of Meghan Markle's MESSY bun.
MarkleMessyBun
DH is getting newest ORR book "Bobby: My Story In Pictures" for Christmas. Shhh!
I have always complained that I am lacking the E on Ann.
Belated Happy Birthday, Picard.
Wishing you all a great day.
Thank you, Pam A. K., for easing us into the week. I finished fast.
I don't drink soda or cola of any kind but am familiar with Mountain DEWS. I also am not afraid of Virginia WOOLF. Her plays are not FAMILY FRIENDLY.
I'm afraid though, that I wanted Godiva NUDE then NAKED before BARE.
Since I don't do well with heights, I've only seen the Royal GORGE in Colorado and beautiful though it is, I'll keep my distance. Even the Grand Canyon makes me queasy.
There is a TATUM boulevard in Phoenix.
In Frankfurt they changed our GATE but since we didn't know German we were unaware of it; we finally asked about our flight but it was long gone. They put us on another which caused a DELAY in Istanbul and we missed the welcome party. Otherwise the trip was fabulous. That was about 20 years ago.
I prefer NEIL Diamond to almost all other singers and Sweet Caroline is one of my favorites. It doesn't matter to me who he wrote it for.
Belated birthday wishes, Picard! You enlighten us on so many things.
Have a GORGEous day, everyone!
What was LOD derived from?
Decided last night/this morning I wasn't going to bother with a poem today, but I guess I ought to try at least one, and stealing a line from my _J poem, so I only have to write 4 more lines.
Up on the mountain with dawn-light new,
Up to where the ground had snow as DEW,
No fairy-rings of toadstools bloom.
Indeed, there's hardly any room,
Between SLEDS and skis and snowboards and snowtubes and sno-cats and toboggans and discs -- and even a snowman or two!
{A.}
OKL @ 1305 - LOD is the former name of the Ben Gurion airport. At that time located on the outskirts of the town of LOD near Tel Aviv. You could LIU.
I had a TEMPO and a Pinto. And an Aerostar.
And, HBD Picard. Say hello to Ed.
This one went quickly. Sweet Caroline is the BoSox anthem. She would've been six during her father's funeral where she was indeed"Sweet".
So... Tarpon Springs has a George Sisler Park??? I just read a Sisler bio and his old St Louis Browns trained there(spring) and named it after one of the original 13 Hof inductees.
Now I know. Did you know that Tinbeni?
I ended up finding a Nero Wolfe tv mystery to watch on my phone(Champagne for One).
WC
Well, I finally got dug out, made my appointment, and back. I recant my smart-ass comments FLN. now on to the crossword!
WEES about nearly everything. Cruciverb was down again and I had to do it on line, which I dislike. Nice puzzle; thanks to Pam and to Boomer.
I hear a nap calling me …
Have a great day all!
Hi Y'all! Fun Fast! Theme was apparent by the third one. Thanks, Pam, for a puzzle with no flashing red lights for me. Fun from you, Boomer, as always. Thanks.
FF reminded me of blast-out contests we used to have in junior high band when we had a shy, sweet, very wimpy female teacher who would leave the class in tears. Why we jerks thought that was hilarious, I will never know. Usually I had great empathy for teachers. Outside of that, I got along nicely with her. Mob mentality is awful!
41d. Thought they wanted Seacrest's given name. Kept trying different spellings for Ryan before RIPA. Don't give a RIP-A for that show.
Tried FISHeRY before FRY. Duh! SPOreS before SPOORS.
Gee, we don't see enough of FLO on TV? Now we have her immortalized in CW?
We used to watch Jimmy Dean sing on TV when he had his own show and we had 3 channels. Now I eat his pre-cooked microwavable sausage a lot.
Happy Birthday, Robert, the going-est show-and-tell guy I know. I enjoy your posts even if I don't say so enough.
It's yesterday's tomorrow and the sun has come out after our big travel-crippling snow storm. Only 28 degrees at noon so not a lot of melt but better than white-out conditions. The ground was warm so it is melting a little from below. Hope my usually self-shoveling driveway works its magic. I'll need groceries delivered in a day or so. My shoveler has a long list before me.
A fun Monday pzl from Ms. Klawitter....
Ta ~ DA!
As easy-going as it was, it slowed me in a couple of places where proper names crossed & where I always have a problem separating the YOLK. I mean keeping it apart from its homophone, YOKE.
Owen, I was going to say you surpass yourself, but you have already set so high a standard that there is no "surpassing" possible!
~ OMK
____________
DR: Three diagonals, NW to SE. The main line yields two cryptic anagrams. Take your choice of either ...
"SLEEK PATIO"
- or -
"HIP TOILETS"
Boomer- Jimmy Dean sing? BIG JOHN, BIG BAD JOHN, a hell of a man. He also had his own television show for a few years.
Paganini- only professionals can play his piano music. Too difficult to play.
Possible Mississippi Senator?- ETSY, no. It's Mike ESPY. This guy:
" Former Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy has been indicted by a federal grand jury on 39 counts of illegally accepting gifts and favors while a member of the Clinton cabinet, and trying to cover up those activities. " Yes that guy. He resigned and
LOD & THE L- unknowns
Speaking of football, LSU got shafted by the refs not once, not twice, but three times in their 74-72 loss to Texas A&M. Absurd. Their right offensive tackle did a holding take down of the LSU defensive rushed as A&M threw a touchdown pass-NO call. LSU intercepted a pass and somehow the refs claimed that the QB's knee had touched the ground before he threw it. Millions of viewers saw the refs were wrong. And the coup d-etat was a Pass Interference call on the LSU back in the endzone when it was plain as day that the receiver pushed off. When the LSU back protested the ref threw his hat for another penalty for unsportmanlike conduct.
I liked Pam's puzzle today, but it sure has a lot of plurals in it, 11 in fact, not counting FANGS which is usually plural. I did a double take at NEIL crossing ONEAL. Hand up for wanting a NUDE Godiva rather than a BARE one.
Anton Bruckner has a great many ƒƒ markings in his scores.
I love Jimmy DEAN sausage.
Years ago LW and I rented a Ford TEMPO to drive to Arizona. It was a nice little car, actually, and handled Oak Creek Canyon (a beautiful GORGE) with aplomb as well as the hot desert areas.
ETSY is fast becoming a crossword staple.
I'm glad Scott Joplin named his rag composition The Easy Winners rather than The Shoo-ins.
My sister's middle name is Anne, not ANN.
Good wishes to you all.
BE, I’m sure it just slipped your mind that after a four-year $17 million investigation, the jury only needed nine hours to find “that guy” NOT Guilty.
Fort Issimo?
Belated Happy Birthday Picard...
Scenic Detour (6:23)
Boomer, thank you for your Monday musings which you impart with such vibrancy and wit.
In 1990 I had bought a Ford Tempo for some reason and one night while returning home from taking my daughter skating I was hit by a man on drugs. That car, fortunately, was built like a tank and likely saved my life.
I haven't tried Jimmy DEAN sausages and encouraged by all your positive comments I shall.
Just now I put another dent in my shopping at Kohl's and Walmart. It's my contribution to the economy!
Thanks, billocohoes!
One of the great irresponsibilities of "sharing" web data is how infrequently those who pass stuff along ever bother to correct the false impressions left by half a story.
Thank you for reminding/informing us that former Clinton cabinet member Mike Espy was acquitted on all counts.
One of the jurors went on record: "This was the weakest, most bogus thing I ever saw. I can't believe [the prosecution] ever brought this to trial."
~ OMK
Big E, I share your pain over the LSU loss but we must all remember football is a game of inches and ref calls. What Minnesota fans last year call the Minnesota Miracle, we call We was Robbed! But both sentiments are true.
In 2009 when the Saints were untouchable, they were also a sloppy football team. (Will I have to leave town go saying that?!!)
Luck counts and we got lots of luck that year and lots of favorable calls.
I have trouble finding blame for our losss. It goes both ways.
Hi All!
Thanks Pam for a Fast Filling Monday puzzle. The theme was somewhat lost on me as I didn't know Fortissimo's symbol is f f.
Thanks Boomer for the expo. I totally forgot about the Ford TEMPO.
WOs: started dyes, hOLD b/f theme said FOLD, RoMEN noodles. Godiva was PURE chocolate at 1st :-)
ESPs: RIPA, LOD, ANA,; SPOOR is a new word for me
Fav: I SORTA got a kick out of CLEANSE and MESSY CRAM'd in the SAME corner.
Runner-up: DELAY xing ETDs.
{A}
IM: Illinois -> Louisiana -> Oklahoma ->Texas. DW was Christened at St. John's and wanted the Girls Christened there too. So, we flew to NYC for a week of site-seeing and freezing (it was coldest winter in 100 years is what they said).
Funny DR today OMK. HIP TOILETS could be groovy or, if hip-deep, yech.
Happy un-Birthday Picard!
Cheers, -T
"Anonymous billocohoes said...
BE, I’m sure it just slipped your mind that after a four-year $17 million investigation, the jury only needed nine hours to find “that guy” NOT Guilty."
Well juries also found OJ Simpson and Angela Davis "NOT GUILTY'. You are confusing "Not guilty" with "innocent". He was not innocent by any stretch.
O.J. slit his wife's throat, Angela Davis bought guns the day before they were used to kill a Federal judge in his courtroom, and MIKE ESPY definitely took the money, tickets, free plane rides, and other things. He forgot that he wasn't in Congress any longer because at that time it was perfectly legal for Congressmen to receive those things but not Cabinet officials.
That wasn't the ESPY* that played with ORR in the 70s?
Don't feel bad about drifting into politics, my pastor dissed POTUS last Sunday. By name.
WC
* Ok it was Espo(sito).
Greetings!
Thanks to Pam and Boomer
Only puzzled by LOD.
Belated HBY to you, Picard!
Hope to see you tomorrow!
BE:
Nobody claimed "innocent" in place of "Not Guilty." The jury seemed to think there was no case at all against Mr. Espy, not on a single one of 30 counts.
The main point is your omission in your initial posting of any verdict at all!
Don't you suppose you ought to own up to that before attributing an error falsely to billocohoes?
Just sayin' ...
~ OMK
Good Tuesday morning, folks. Thank you, Pam Klawiter, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Boomer, for a fine review.
Did this last night but too tired to log on here. Went to bed. Here I am Tuesday morning.
Puzzle was fine. Only problem was cruciverb was down, so on paper it was.
Liked the theme. I like FORTISSIMO. I have done some of that on my tuba.
Informally, the CTA railway is called THE L. It is also called the EL. Either way works.
Anyhow, I have to leave to guard the crossing in a few minutes. See you later today.
Abejo
( )
Good morning. About 24 hours late.
Didn't (couldn't) get to the Monday puzzle until late Monday evening. We lost power Sunday night.
Thank you Pam and thank you Boomer.
In Chicago, it's the 'L'. Unlike NYC that uses of the alphabet to name the lines, the names of the 8 CTA lines are colors: Red, Blue, Green, Orange, Yellow, Brown, Pink and Purple. So unlike NYC, there's no L line, but you can still hear carolers sing that in December.
In 30 years, the only line I've been on is the Red Line. It's the one to take to Wrigley Field, and the only one I've been on.
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