Theme: "Down in Front" - IN is added to the start of each common phrase.
3. Orchestra conductor's memo heading?: IN RE PERCUSSION. Repercussion.
6. So-so golf swings?: INDIFFERENT STROKES. Different strokes.
10. How married couples may spend Thanksgiving?: IN-LAW ABIDING. Law-abiding.
14. Baseball groundskeeper's problem?: INFIELD MOUSE. Field mouse.
30. Religious seminary?: INVOCATIONAL SCHOOL. Vocational school.
53. Dragon tattoos, e.g.?: INKING OF BEASTS. King of beasts.
61. Take out a policy for replacement value?: INSURE ENOUGH. Sure enough.
63. Finding actors for a small-studio film?: INDIE CASTING. Die casting.
See
how "Down" added the extra elegance to this puzzle? I would have just
used "In Front" and put theme entries in Across. The brain of DAB!
Grid-wise, it's a standard 144-word, 78-black square grid that I really like.
Across:
5. Storage tower: SILO.
9. Emotional exhalation: SIGH. And 59. Cry of dismay: OH NO.
13. Mint metal, once: SILVER.
19. Wine opener?: OENO.As in "Oenophile".
20. Home of the Railroad Museum of Oklahoma: ENID. Here with Thomas.
21. "Next round's __": ON ME.
22. Whomever: ANYONE.
23. Sent on: FORWARDED.
25. Group with ancestral ties: CLAN.
26. Paranormal cases: X-FILES.
27. Serpent's tail?: INE. Serpentine. Also 106. Chemical suffix: ANE.
28. Nintendo consoles: WIIS.
29. Designer Versace: GIANNI. Here with his sister Donatella.
31. Habituate: INURE.
32. Swindles: RIPS OFF.
34. Eject forcibly: SPEW.
35. Cost of hand delivery?: ANTE. Poker hand.
37. CEO, CFO, etc.: MGT. Management.
38. Go furtively: SNEAK.
39. 82-Down subcompacts: FIESTAS. 82. Maker of Explorers and 39-Across: FORD.
42. Low places: VALLEYS.
44. __ Haute: TERRE. Indiana.
45. Finish: END.
46. Lawyer's gp.: ABA.
47. Outdated, spelled in an outdated way: OLDE.
48. Is able to: CAN.
49. NBC founder: RCA. I associate a "founder" with a person.
50. Purple flower: LILAC.
52. "__ oui!": MAIS.
55. Render aghast: STUN.
57. Intend: MEAN.
58. Hindu deity: DEVA. Sanskrit for "god".
60. Owns: HAS.
61. McShane of "Deadwood": IAN. Looks like a bad character.
62. Spanish ayes: SI SI. Chinese is "Shi de, Shi de".
65. Rebuke from Caesar: ET TU.
67. Kith and __: KIN.
69. Raised trains: ELS.
70. Minor quibbles: NITS.
72. "I'll Be Your Mirror" photographer Goldin: NAN.
 |
73. Ebro y Douro: RIOS. Wikipedia says Douro is "the highest-flow river of the Iberian Peninsula".
74. Anger: IRE. 127. Come to a boil: SEETHE.
75. Hit the slopes: SKI.
76. Shrugworthy: SO SO.
77. Hounds, e.g.: DOGS. Verb.
79. Smelter's supply: ORE.
80. Grant-giving gp.: NEA.
81. Soy block: TOFU. I like it extra firm.
83. Pad krapow gai cuisine: THAI. Pad ="Stir-fried". Krapow= "Holy basil". Gai is just "chicken". Same as Cantonese. Also slang for "prostitute".
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/4507925-spicy-thai-basil-chicken-pad-krapow-gai-photo-by-chef-john-cropped-dc99cdbd3e414da5ae3258a723c00108.jpg)
85. Glass piece: PANE.
87. Disney CEO Bob: IGER. He's back.
88. __ close to schedule: ON OR.
89. Choir attire: ROBES.
91. Roth __: IRA.
92. Peace activist Yoko: ONO.
93. Forfeited auto: REPO.
95. Earth-friendly prefix: ECO.
96. "Wonder Woman" star Gadot: GAL.
97. Aficionados: BUFFS.
100. Spot with patio furniture: SUNDECK.
103. Relatively reliable sources of income: DAY JOBS.
105. Defame in print: LIBEL.
107. Tiny amt. of time: NSEC.
109. Coin receiver: SLOT.
110. Country estate: CHATEAU.
112. Release: LET GO. Tiny dupe with 1. Lead: GO FIRST.
114. Targeted, as a basketball hoop: SHOT AT.
116. Not ajar: SHUT. Hi there, Hahtoolah!
117. Bank drive-thru device: ATM. Oh, I finally got my Wells
Fargo ATM card. Now I have access to our bank account again. No more
credit card from them though. I just don't have the bandwidth to deal
with them any more.
118. Warmed the bench: SAT OUT.
120. "There's nobody else": I'M IT.
121. Relaxes: LOOSENS UP.
123. Cheese in some bagels: ASIAGO. Boomer would be startled by what I have in the fridge now.
124. Pre-Easter period: LENT.
125. Out of control: AMOK.
126. Raison d'__: ETRE.
128. "Bus Stop" playwright: INGE (William)
129. Salon array: GELS.
130. Secondhand: USED.
Down:
2. Like a maned cat: LEONINE.
4. Gift topper: BOW.
5. Sans-__: type style: SERIF.
7. Reclines: LIES.
8. Peculiar: ODD.
9. Transcending the individual: SOCIETAL.
11. FBI guy: G MAN.
12. Reddish brown dye: HENNA. Intricate.
13. Jazz horn: SAX.
15. "__ Eyes": 1975 Eagles hit: LYIN'.
16. Encyclopedia unit: VOLUME.
17. Cabinet department created under Carter: ENERGY.
18. Creates anew, as a password: RESETS.
24. Roused: AWOKEN.
29. Rte. provider: GPS.
33. Wrap brand: SARAN.
34. Some cars: SEDANS.
36. "Culture Warlords" author Lavin: TAL. New clue angle. Sometimes we see "Chess master Mikhail".
40. Worshipper of the goddess Pachamama: INCA.
41. Merchant's goal: SALE.
43. "Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology" memoirist Remini: LEAH. She's pretty gutsy.
51. Affirm: AVER.
54. Evening party: SOIREE.
55. "__ So Unusual": Cyndi Lauper's debut album: SHE'S.
56. Converse with: TALK TO.
57. Month between abril and junho: MAIO. May.
64. First word of some Brazilian city names: SAO.
66. Ripped apart: TORE.
68. Close: NEAR.
71. Little Italy neighbor: SOHO.
78. Tap: SPIGOT.
84. Still tucked in: ABED.
86. Part of UAE: ARAB.
87. Indigenous people of the far North: INUIT.
90. Nondairy coffeehouse order: SOY LATTE.
92. Not quite spherical: OBLATE.
94. Mac alternatives: PCS.
98. __ film: FEATURE.
99. Had a dry spell at the plate: SLUMPED.
100. Taco bar array: SALSAS.
101. Disquiet: UNEASE.
102. Geneticist Stevens who discovered sex chromosomes: NETTIE.
104. Write (down): JOT.
108. Cook-off dish: CHILI.
111. Shucker's discards: HUSKS.
113. Superlative acronym: G.O.A.T.
115. Sign: OMEN.
116. More than none: SOME.
119. __ loop: simple skating jump: TOE.
121. Fall behind: LAG.
122. Modern, in German: NEU.
Big milestone today for Patti Varol, editor for the L.A. Times Daily crosswords. Happy birthday, Patti!
I've worked with Patti for many years, both for the Crosswords Club and the LAT daily. Whether a puzzle is accepted or rejected, she always gives me constructive feedback and helps me tighten up the theme set. She also spends an extraordinary amount of time to polish my clues:
1) She makes sure that my clues don't dupe the clues in the puzzles that run in the same week as mine.
2)
She makes sure that I have no typos and the cluing style fit in the
Tribune Media requirements, that my total character count does not exceed the space for
various newspapers. It's very easy to get long-winded!
3) She makes sure that my clues are fair. Can you imagine I want every clue to reflect my interests and who I am? Can you imagine I clue BING as [Ice, in Chinese] and DING as [Ancient Chinese cauldron with three legs] and I intersect the two in the same grid? Certainly fair to me, but it's not to you guys.
4)
She makes sure that my clues are fresh and witty. As I've mentioned in
the past, the many clever clues you guy like are not mine. She's the unsung hero behind all this.
It's
just astonishing to read yesterday's comments. I'm stunned by this constructor's lack of understanding of how a puzzle is edited.
35 comments:
First off, I hope everyone is served up the same puzzle today so as to avoid the state of mass confusion which was yesterday’s Corner. I think most everybody will enjoy today’s CW, not too difficult for the dedicated solvers. DAB is one of the best in the business and I always like to see his byline cuz I know it will be a cleverly themed challenge. Managed a FIR in 22:23.
C.C ~ a very nice write up today, and thank you for explaining the relationship of constructor/editor and how it is a team effort to make a grid fit for publication. I liked your comment about Boomer and your refrigerator 😊
Happy B/Day Patti!
This puzzle was not overly difficult, IMHO. The themed answers were clear and appropriate to the gimmick. Other than that, I don’t have too much to say about this puzzle. FIR, so I’m happy. And, speaking of “happy”, Happy Birthday, Patti!
I managed the under 10 minute FIR that I aim for on Sunday, without much slowdown from the proper names. I noticed the abundance of different languages in the fill and it may bother some solvers, but I didn’t mind it too much.
Good morning!
Yay, d-o sussed the theme. Thought that IN RE at 3d was clever. No Naticks today; when names were unknown, the perps were helpful. Nicely done D.A.B. Enjoyed your tour, C.C. (So what's so unusual in your fridge?)
Oops, forgot to wish Patti a happy 50th. Hope she's doing something to make it special. On dw's 50th she climbed the pyramid at Chichen Itza. On my 50th we went to Yosemite...and d-o forgot to pack underwear.
FIW, with OiNO x LiONINE. I knew OENO, but as I may have mentioned before, I am somewhat speling chalanged.
I use a service for my mail to be FORWARDED to. They accumulate it, and every week or two I go to their web site, select some for shredding, and tell them where to bundle and send the rest.
"Hounds" and DOGS are verbs, but I think DAB meant them as nouns because of the "e.g.". Hounds, herding, working, sporting, nonsporting, terriers, and toys. Zoe is a sight hound. She also has tattoos. Guess she got them at the INKING OF THE BEASTS day at the racing kennel.
GAL Gadot: I'd love to SPIGOT that.
If I could just eat CHILI, fajitas and pizza for the rest of my life, I would (soon) die a happy man.
Thanks to DAB for another fine puzzle, and a great start to the week. My favorite, of course, was "hounds, e.g." for DOGS. And thanks to CC for the fun review, and for your take on yesterday's dust-up.
D-O, if you are going to forget your dainties, I can't think of a better place than California. When I lived there (late 70s to late 80s), undies were optional accessories.
Hi Y'all! Thank you for a great puzzle, D.A.B., and a clever amusing theme. Enjoyed filling it.
Thank you, C.C., for a great expo and comments. Your accepting attitude towards the editor/editors has probably been a huge reason we have been blessed with seeing so many of your puzzles. Certainly hope we continue to enjoy your work.
I knew IGER was back at Disney but couldn't think of his name. Knew about half of the proper names. WAGs & perps helped fill them.
INconclusion, I finished this one in 14:36 today.
Still adjusting to doing Sunday puzzles.
Still adjusting to the prevelance of foreign words and authors/novelists.
I didn't know: "Ebro y Douro" or "Rios"; the French word/phrase; Maio; Tal; or, the geneticist.
Cute theme, executed well.
Sunday Lurk says...
I noticed non-themers (INE, INURE, INGE, INCA, INUET) starting with IN... DAB is slipping :-)
ENID, OK - a weather town. You'd only hear about it on the news when a tornado was threating it (the tornado was probably going to hit Moore anyway; they always get the brunt of really bad storms). //Moore is between OKC & Norman (Boomer Sooner!) - When she was at OU, I told Eldest to NEVER go to a movie in Moore - storms form fast on the plains.
Jinx - you add some carrots to your chili (you'll never taste it and it makes it ever-so-slightly sweet) and you'll have enough vegies in your chili, pizza, fajita diet to live forever! :-)
D-O: I've left my smalls behind before. Easy to clean in the sink and by dry by dawn.
Great expo and publication process summary, C.C.. We've collaborated and, while I've been disappointed that my clues were changed, in the end, the editor was right.
AND! I got my name in the paper (not the police-blotter page - made Pop proud! :-)).
So what's in your refrigerator, C.C.? INquiring minds want to know.
Happy Birthday Patti!
Cheers, -T
Good morning. DAB made this puzzle easier than it should have been. After IN RE PERCUSSION and INDIFFERENT STROKES, you knew the theme fills would start with IN. SURE ENOUGH, they did. And it helped because I didn't know Versace's first name, GIANNI. No real problems because the perps took care of the unknown proper names. DEVA, IAN, NAN, TAL, LEAH, NETTIE,
ASAIGO filled after a few perps but I didn't know it.
SAX- woodwind or horn? It's got a reed but it's brass.
TORE or TORN- wait for the perp
I wonder when ECOlogical became only 'Earth-friendly".
FLN- concerning 'Brian Rom's" reply to @atlgranny he's entitled to his own work but remember that the editor has to make sure there is a puzzle available SEVEN DAYS A WEEK for a widely circulated audience. She's not there to please the constructor but to make sure there is an acceptable puzzle.
I don't know why he wrote something to me. I DID NOT work his puzzle. I found out about it after I solved the puzzle that was printed in my newspaper. When I went to C.C.'s Crossword Corner I saw it was a repeat. All I did was list the LA Times website that contained his puzzle.
Yesterday’s discussion reminded me of the movie Saving Mr. Banks. It told the story of P.L. Travers and how she fought pre-IGER Disney (Walt was played by Tom Hanks) tooth-and-nail about what they wanted to do to her Mary Poppins series. She relented and took the money as she needed it while was fully aware that she did not like the film version. It is very easy to find scores of other authors who were aghast at what treatment their works received when adapted for movies or other media.
Hola!
Si! Si! I finished in good time sipping my coffee in between fill. Ah, life is good. SIGH.
You know you are in the hands of a Master when there is a small number of proper names in such a large grid! DAB can do it!
I liked seeing LOOSEN UP over AMOK.
I've never seen INKING OF BEASTS but I've seen and heard BRANDING. It's an unforgettable sound. I was seven years old when I saw and heard a herd of cows in the process of being BRANDED and have never forgotten it.
CHATEAU Briand is one of my favorite among OENO.
The party last night is one of my favorite FIESTAS with good food, good company and great fun. One of my great-nephews chose the box where I had packed the unwanted dress! It caused a great uproar of laughter. Then he gave it to his grandmother, my sister, who liked it.
Nothing LOOSENS UP the crowd like laughter and there was plenty of it along with good food. My sister makes her red CHILI like my mother did. Yum! Yum! I brought some home for later.
My memory of TERRE Haute is driving through it and the loud honking! I've never heard that in any other place. ENID, OK, is on highway 40 and we drove through it on our way to and from Charlotte but I don't recall anything remarkable about it.
Time to go. Thank you, C.C. and DAB.
Have a great day today, everyone!
Forgetting to pack underwear can be frustrating. In Spain I had only one or two and washed them at night but the humidity prevented them completely drying so I used the hand dryer which caused an outage! You can guess the rest!
FIR, finally. I was making great time until I got to the SW corner, my last area, and I struggled to finish it. If not for that, I would have had record time.
Oops. I failed to mention that in the above situation I forgot to insert the adapter before using the dryer! In foreign countries it is a must to use an adapter for American appliances.
A happy FIR on David's puzzle this morning, reminding me how much I like his puzzle style. Thanks!
There were a few WOs as usual, starting at the beginning when I put GO ahead instead of FIRST. As C.C. put it, the theme made the most of the position of the themers and was helpful to me as well as elegant. C.C., thanks for the review and for your comments about constructing puzzles and working with Patti (Happy Birthday!).
Yes, what's in the refrigerator now, C.C.? INquiring minds do want to know!
Enjoy your Sunday all!
Thank you, CC, for your perspective and the peek "behind the curtain" of what goes into a crossword. I sincerely hope Mr. Rom can use this as a chance to learn and grow.
Musings
-I went through this fun puzzle quickly and finally noticed all the cells were full!
-INVOCATIONAL SCHOOL made me laugh at loud
-I had to learn that being GLIB can be a terrible thing if you don’t read the room.
-“Who ya gonna believe? Me or your LYIN’ EYES?” has roots with the Marx Brothers
-SARAN Wrap hard to tear off? Store it in the freezer.
-Hmmm… What should we call someone who shucks all those HUSKS off ears of corn?
-Happy Birthday, Patti!
If the Explorer SUV is too big get the FORD FIESTA SEDAN and make timely payments so it doesn't get REPOed. BTW, you can't buy a new FORD SEDAN** anymore but there are lots of USED ones.
**The only surviving FORD car is the Mustang.
Lucina, I had to look up Chateau Briand wine -- I'd only heard of it as a beef tenderloin for two. The wine is a real thing.
-T, we have a photo from that Yosemite trip with the Flute of the Rooms proudly displayed drying on the lampshade in our cabin.
Happy birthday, Patti Varol! I hope you are celebrating.
D-Otto
In the Convent the Nuns had a good friend whose father had owned a restaurant and she was knowledgeable about all kinds of wines. She often brought gifts of wine and if we didn't know about them she would describe their type, etc. Otherwise I would likely not know much about wine.
Happy Birthday Patti!
if you care to stop by the Blog, you can edit your own cake!
Very enjoyable Bywaters puzzle today,
But I can't help but wonder if ...
should it have been titled "in down front..."
Thank you CC for your input, and I am so glad that we are able to keep you busy...
PSA
Note: don't forget to see TTPs late night post yesterday.
Has Siri for Sisi at 64A which obviously made the perp wrong. Nice puzzle all-in-all. CW’s, to me, are something to relax over with morning coffee, just to clear the cobwebs and get my brain cranked. Unless I do them on the web, they’re never timed. I always print the Sunday’s and go from there. It isn’t a race, to me at least. I’ve got enough pressure just from everyday living. For those who like to speed, that’s great. I’m a “live and let live” type so I’m not out to offend anyone.
Peace.
Loved today’s puzzled. Yes easy to figure out the theme, but fun to come up with the answers. I’m not sure I understand 10d, however.
We have LEONINE and KING OF THE BEASTS, an epithet usually attributed to lions at opposite ends. There’s that awkward word again AWOKEN.
For mint metal once at first I had copper but quickly corrected it when I saw the SAX.
Nice dual language clues in the same puzzle: SI SI and MAIS oui.
Happy birthday to Patti. Ah! To be 50 again.(sigh).
Tante Nique, I took it to mean that the couple was abiding (staying) with their inlaws.
Thanks d-o. That kinda helps.
Thanks to CC I gained a better understanding of the process of editing a crossword. Sounds like it’s difficult to please both the constructors and the solvers, and at the same time publish a quality crossword.
Perfect fast solving puzzle for a Sunday.
Jinx, I always throw in a can of Libby’s Pumpkin into my chili, it helps thicken it, and adds fiber and nutrition. If you don’t tell anybody, they won’t taste any pumpkin.
Thank you David for today's tour de force. Your puzzle was just the Sunday inspiration we needed after yesterday's confusion; and I got a FIR to boot.
And thank you C.C. for your theme explication. I saw that the themers were DOWNS, beginning with "IN", which modified the punny fill. However I missed the significance of the phrase "DOWN in Front", perhaps better better punctuated as "DOWN, IN Front".
35A ANTE. The great composers like J.S. Bach often "plagiarized" from themselves. Our great constructor used today's clue for ANTE in his own "Happy New Years" puzzle that I linked to on 1/5/2023.
89A ROBES. Another clue from DAB's "Happy New Years" puzzle.
61A IAN. McShane is a very versatile actor. I know him best as the antiques dealer cum art forger LoveJoy in the 1986-1994 eponymous TV series. Here's a clip of his first meeting the dishy Lady Jane Felsham (Phyllis Logan, later Mrs Hughes in Downton Abbey).
75A SKI. A CSO to MalMan.
97A BUFFS. E.g. cruciverbalists.
117A ATM. The news about Wells Fargo hasn't been so good since the days when they delivered mail out West by stagecoach.
12D HENNA. My artistic granddaughter inks intricate HENNA tattoos on her left arm, but not on her right, as she is not ambidextrous.
13D SAX. Strictly speaking the SAXOPHONE is a woodwind, not a brass instrument.
102D NETTIE. DNK Dr. Stevens. Here's her Wiki.
Cheers,
Bill
p.s. And special thanks to C.C. for telling Patti's side of the story.
And thanks to TTP for stepping in at the end and setting the guy straight.
I liked this puzzle, including because I like Sunday puzzles, I like Mr. Bywaters' puzzles, and I like the theme of add a letter or letters, subtract a letter or letters, or change the sound. Once I realized the theme answers all began with IN, solving the puzzle became slightly easier. Lots of fun.
OENO went in, then came out when I mistakenly thought LEONINE was spelled LIONINE, then went back in again. NICKEL became SILVER when that SAX showed up. EXE became MGR which then became MGT. I thought of Olympic speed skater Apolo Anton when I saw OHNO.
I should have known Douro from my knowledge of port wine, but for some reason I thought "Ebro y Douro" was a math (addition) problem. Does Mr. Bywaters speak Portuguese?
I love ASIAGO bagels.
I agree AWOKEN just looks awkward.
Four-letter city in Oklahoma? ENID.
The first time I had "stinky" TOFU I was STUNned. Man oh man it tasted awful.
I admire LEAH Remini. I enjoyed her in that TV show "King of Queens" with Kevin James.
For some reason when I got SPIGOT I thought of the late British Actor Tim Piggot-Smith.
Good wishes to you all.
Thanks to DAB for a well-crafted puzzle. My grandfather was known to yell out "Down in front" whenever someone in the front rows stood up during a performance, blocking his view. He had no patience for such acts, but he seemed to put his own verbal interruption in another category. I remember him calling this out at my school plays and band performances. Thank you for the memories, DAB.
FAVs: Soy block and Hounds, e.g.
Anon-T. Hand up for putting shredded carrots in my chili. If you put them in at the beginning, they pretty much dissolve by the time it's ready.
C.C. Thank you for sharing your experiences & expertise with us!
Happy b-day to Patty! It's also my dad's and Elvis' b-day. (You probably knew that last one.)
ABIDING is in the sense of tolerating in 10D
Super Sunday. Thanks for the fun, David and C.C.
I required one red letter help to finish, as I was confused by RCA and couldn’t see INCA. (I was working the CW on my phone and am not used to seeing the grid that way.). I did see the IN theme.
Due to a busy week, I have not always completed the CW and/or made it here for a few days. Lo and behold, I missed an ADO yesterday. Thanks C.C. for your insider’s view into the construction/editorial process.
As Irish Miss would say, DAB brought his O game today. I noted ONO, OENO, OH NO, SOHO, SILO, REPO, ECO, LET GO, ASIAGO, TALK TO, MAIO, SAO, and SO SO (with a dupe in the clue for 6D).
SISI and SOSO, ABED and AWOKEN brought a smile, as did Kith and KIN, and CLAN.
Happy Birthday Patti.
Wishing you all a good evening.
Restaurant near Boston was HoSaiGai. Great food, no liquor license
Did I tell you my first job was lobster 'shucker'
CC, you've explained things well. After reading Brian I looked back at the grid and could clearly see that PV 's changes made the grid fit and more or less made the xword Saturday doable. Btw, FIW after all for me: when I changed suck to tuck I kept the trailing 'it'. LETTO I actually knew
Eschewing underwear was de rigueur in Nam . If there's NAE underwear there's NAE itch*
Gary ntso us readers aghast at movie versions of books we loved. There was one great version of a book: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy on PBS with Alec Guiness that was masterful. The opposite? James Bond movies
OENO, CSO to C-Moe
Speaking of Gary. Question. Has the "Portal" started to play a role in woman's college sports like volleyball? TCU used it extensively to get to tomorrow night's championship game
FIR to start a new streak. Talked to a guy staying 30 miles south of Tampa where Temps are 10-15• higher than Ocala/Gainesville. Low 30s last two nights but mild rest of week
Hbd Patti, great pic. Let me add from fln… Patti and other Ed.s want to include younger solvers and the pop-cul AFI aficionados hence Ghanaian writers and rap
WC
Good luck enticing younger solvers to crosswords. I started at age 9 or 10 in fourth grade when my teacher gave us Xwords for our spelling list. I was hooked! Then in high school I was given puzzles with religious clues which further fueled my interest and love of crosswords.
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