Hello Cornerites!
sumdaze here. Today's 43 Across is: Keep On Keeping On
Curtis Mayfield performs Keep on Keeping On (1971)
It might be best to begin with the reveal today:
56 Across. Happy cry on a fishing trip, and what can be said about the end of the answer to each starred clue?: THAT'S A KEEPER.
All of the starred clues end in a word which is a type of KEEPER. Let's see if that works.
20 Across. *Vegetable tops used in soups and stews: TURNIP GREENS.
A GREENSKEEPER is a specialized gardener who is in charge of maintaining landscaping on golf courses and country clubs.
Is anyone else thinking of Carl, the GREENSKEEPER from Caddyshack (1980)
played by Bill Murray? (1:26 min.)
28 Across. *Comedian who hosted "Full Frontal": SAMANTHA BEE.
Full Frontal was a late-night talk and news satire TV program which aired on TBS from 2016 to 2022. In this case, the constructor needed to use a proper name, as opposed to something like a solitary bee (same number of letters and vowels), so that "BEE" did not share the same meaning in both the fill and the theme.
A BEEKEEPER, also called an 'apiarist', tends honey bee hives.
49 Across. *"Quite the slump there, huh?": OFF YOUR GAME.
One definition of a GAMEKEEPER is a person in charge of the breeding and protection of game animals or birds on a private preserve.
In keeping with Crossword Corner tradition, we will now look at the other clues.
Across:1. Deep fissure: CHASM.
6. "Permission to Dance" K-pop band: BTS. I use ATLGranny's memory trick: Boys That Sing.
9. Tiny bit of matter: ATOM. Why should you never trust ATOMs? Because they make everything up.
13. Baffling question: POSER. You might guess that its etymology is connected to questions being posed. Right...and that person asking the test questions was called an apposer. source
14. Tear to bits: REND. Def: to tear (the hair or clothing) as a sign of anger, grief, or despair.
16. Gift wrapper's adhesive: TAPE.
 |
| prom dress & tux made out of duct TAPE |
18. Opera solo: ARIA.
Cecilia Bartoli sings Se Tu M'ami (If You Love Me) by composer Alessandro Parisotti
19. Hits the slopes: SKIS.
23. Promos: ADS. "Promotions" is abbreviated, so is "ADvertisementS".
26. Skin care brand with a Retinol Correxion line: ROC.
26. Skin care brand with a Retinol Correxion line: ROC.
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| I have my doubts about a product that does not spell "correction" correctly. |
27. Chin beard: GOATEE.
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| Dwane The Rock Johnson, rocking his GOATEE We've seen several GOATEEs in puzzles lately, as well as on some bloggers' faces. |
32. Strange: ODD.
33. Door openers: KNOBS.
34. Pop, as a bubble: BURST.
36. Stuffing herb: SAGE. My grandmother used to make a SAGE stuffing for her Thanksgiving turkey.
37. Outstanding bills: DEBTS.
39. "Pronto!" letters: ASAP.
43. Motif: THEME.
45. Dried chili in mole sauces: ANCHO. ¡Delicioso! I would guess that there are as many mole recipes as there are Mexican grandmothers. Not all recipes use ANCHO chilies (dried poblano peppers) but here is a recipe that does.
33. Door openers: KNOBS.
Angela Lansbury sings The Age of Not Believing
in BedKNOBS and Broomsticks (1971).
34. Pop, as a bubble: BURST.
37. Outstanding bills: DEBTS.
39. "Pronto!" letters: ASAP.
43. Motif: THEME.
45. Dried chili in mole sauces: ANCHO. ¡Delicioso! I would guess that there are as many mole recipes as there are Mexican grandmothers. Not all recipes use ANCHO chilies (dried poblano peppers) but here is a recipe that does.
46. Lively Irish dance: JIG.
52. Infuriate: ENRAGE. Def: to make (someone) extremely angry and impatient; exasperate.
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| People who talk loudly on their cell phones in a public space can be infuriating. |
54. Inn divs.: RMS. Inns are divided into RooMS.
55. Got together: MET.
55. Got together: MET.
60. News story intro, in journalism jargon: LEDE. Def: the opening sentence or paragraph of a news article, summarizing the most important aspects of the story.
If that's all you read, then that's all you know.
61. Hailed vehicle: TAXI.
62. "Swell!": NIFTY.
66. __ of expertise: AREA.
67. Skidded: SLID.
61. Hailed vehicle: TAXI.
 |
| These car lot Jeeps were damaged by a hailstorm, making them hailed vehicles. |
62. "Swell!": NIFTY.
66. __ of expertise: AREA.
67. Skidded: SLID.
68. Typical film festival entry: INDIE. Movies not produced by a major studio are called INDIEs. Theoretically, they have the freedom to be edgier than the standard fare.
69. Disinfectant target: GERM.
70. Uber driver's guess, for short: ETA. Estimated Time of Arrival, for long
71. Folklore brutes: OGRES.
Down:
1. Lifeguard's lifesaving skill: Abbr.: CPR. True story: My dad once did CPR on a guy at a bar. He never took a class but had seen it done on TV. The paramedics told him he saved the guy's life.
2. Long-handled garden tool: HOE. an uncomfortable history of the short-handled HOE
3. Marshmallow roast residue: ASH.
4. Stock exchange membership: SEAT. That is not what immediately comes to mind on a Monday but OK....
5. Owner of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant on "The Simpsons": MR. BURNS.
69. Disinfectant target: GERM.
70. Uber driver's guess, for short: ETA. Estimated Time of Arrival, for long
71. Folklore brutes: OGRES.
Down:
1. Lifeguard's lifesaving skill: Abbr.: CPR. True story: My dad once did CPR on a guy at a bar. He never took a class but had seen it done on TV. The paramedics told him he saved the guy's life.
2. Long-handled garden tool: HOE. an uncomfortable history of the short-handled HOE
3. Marshmallow roast residue: ASH.
4. Stock exchange membership: SEAT. That is not what immediately comes to mind on a Monday but OK....
5. Owner of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant on "The Simpsons": MR. BURNS.
6. Tree limb: BRANCH. 
7. Hatcher of "Desperate Housewives": TERI.
8. Scissors sound: SNIP. For some people, this sound triggers ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response).
9. Hopelessly lost: AT SEA. Sextants were one way early sailors avoided being hopelessly lost while AT SEA.
10. Develop a fondness for: TAKE TO.
11. Expressed a view: OPINED.
12. Fiddled (with): MESSED. In this video, the musician is fiddling with the sound that his house's water pipe is making while playing his fiddle to its beat.
15. Sharp knives: DAGGERS.
21. Decompose: ROT. Every 1-2 weeks, I enjoy turning my compost pile and observing the various stages of decomposing material.
22. Some reddish deer: ROES. Just remember the song. ♪♪♪ ROE, a deer, a reddish deer. ♪♪♪
7. Hatcher of "Desperate Housewives": TERI.
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| TERI won a Golden Globe award in 2005 for her Susan Mayer role. |
8. Scissors sound: SNIP. For some people, this sound triggers ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response).
9. Hopelessly lost: AT SEA. Sextants were one way early sailors avoided being hopelessly lost while AT SEA.
10. Develop a fondness for: TAKE TO.
11. Expressed a view: OPINED.
12. Fiddled (with): MESSED. In this video, the musician is fiddling with the sound that his house's water pipe is making while playing his fiddle to its beat.
15. Sharp knives: DAGGERS.
21. Decompose: ROT. Every 1-2 weeks, I enjoy turning my compost pile and observing the various stages of decomposing material.
24. "SNL" alum Carvey: DANA. This is DANA Carvey impersonating Bob Dylan on SNL's Weekend Update in 1991 (with anchor Dennis Miller and David Spade as Tom Petty).
25. Air quality concern: SMOG. Everything seems to be turned into a portmanteau now-a-days, but SMoke + fOG = SMOG was a portmanteau pioneer.
29. Aid and __: ABET.
30. Monastic headquarters: ABBEY.
31. "However ... ": BUT.
35. Zest: TANG.
a TV commercial from 1966 for TANG (1 min.)
38. "Unbelievable" rock band: EMF. their website
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| EMF is an initialism for Epsom Mad Funkers. |
41. World-weary sigh: AH ME.
42. Ada Limón, e.g.: POET. Born 28 March 1976, Ms. Limón is the author of six books of poetry. In 2022, she became the first Latina to be name POET Laureate of the U.S.
44. Monopolizes: HOGS.
45. Hall of "Coming 2 America": ARSENIO.
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| Arsenio Hall co-starred with Eddie Murphy in Coming to America (1988). Coming 2 America (2021) is the sequel. |
46. Fatigue after a long flight: JET LAG.
47. Vague reply to "Where are you?": IN HERE. I liked this one.
48. Teacher, during exam week: GRADER. CSO to the Cornerites who have been there and done that!
50. Tater Tots maker: OREIDA.
51. MLB official: UMP. According to the Grammar Girl Podcast Episode 919, a language phenomenon called "rebracketing" is why we no longer say numpire. That word came to English from an Old French word nonpeer which means "not peer" or "peerless", essentially an arbiter of higher status than the participants. Eventually, [a] [numpire] became [an] [umpire]. Another example of rebracketing is [a] [napron] morphed into [an] [apron].
53. Starting squad: A-TEAM. Are there any other (besides me) Le Tour fans here on The Corner? This link goes to the website where you can click on "TEAMS" then click on any of the 22 teams to see some serious A-TEAM members. Each team starts the race with 8 members but it is a long, grueling, 23-day race so many strong riders will drop out due to injuries or time cut-offs.
59. Circle: RING.
63. POTUS on a dime: FDR. "President Of The United States" is abbreviated, so is Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
64. Attach (to): TIE.
65. "Count me in!": YES. We'll conclude on this positive note!
 |
| the grid |
I hope I did not keep you too long. Enjoy your week, everyone!
Notes from C.C.:
Happy birthday to my incomparable mentor and friend Don "Hard G"! Without him, my puzzle book would not have been possible. Thanks for everything, Don!
 |
| Don & his wife Barbie |
31 comments:
Sherlock Holmes became an apiarist,
KEEPING BEES, the honey-est.
Still, undercover,
He made crooks suffer,
With stings to catch those who'd ABET!
The Sphinx, in Egypt, would use POSERS
To separate true men from OGRES.
She had them test
Which coffee's best,
Then ate the ones that OPINED, "Folgers"!
Owen, your second poem was hilarious! That said, I don’t have too much to say about this puzzle. The only thing even slightly difficult to me was coming up with the name “Samantha Bee.” Everything else was the usual Monday walk in the park. FIR, so I’m happy.
Did anyone else go for NEATO before NIFTY? It's such a common answer that it came to mind right away.
Good morning!
Had to change my ABYSS to a CHASM (at 1a, no less!), but otherwise my grid is Wite-Out free. Didn't notice theme nor reveal. No surprise. This was a fun romp to start the work week. Thanx, Karen and sumdaze.
Thanx, KL, for getting the week off to a good start. DNK EMF. W/Os = IMHERE:INHERE, ROAN:ROES, LEAD:LEDE, ALAS:AHME. This CW took longer than a usual Monday because of my (several) poor guesses, resulting in W/Os. Other than that, a nice Monday CW, which I eventually managed to FIR. Thanx for the terrific write-up, Sumdaze.
FIR without erasure. I think this is the second week in a row that we got a Monday-level puzzle on Monday!
I was a veteran cribbage player before I found out that cutting the right jack was nobs, not KNOBS.
I'm told that our warships still carry sextants, and use them daily to maintain their proficiency. Ancient mariners carried astolabes, a precursor. (Our warships also have autopilots, but they are never used except for when testing the autopilots themselves.)
Going away on a four-night camping trip this morning. Looks like we'll have a break in the rain for a few days.
Thanks to Karen for the fun romp through the grid, and to Sumdaze for the clever tour.
Took 4:24 today for me to score the goal.
(Goalkeeper comes to mind first, sorry.)
I had abyss before chasm, and neato before nifty. Never heard of that "roc".
Had always assumed the one-hit wonder band "EMF" was named for "ElectroMotive Force".
I didn't like the clue "inn divs." First, "rms" is unsightly. Second, "inn keeper" would've worked as a theme answer (although, not the end of a clue per the reveal).
Fun Monday run - came to the blog to find the clues/answers I never looked at that filled by perps! Thought of Gary, Yellow Rocks, and our other teachers who spent many a night as a GRADER!
Happy birthday Don!
Thanks SD and Karen!
FIR. Never heard of EMF, and that theme answer, "off your game", left me puzzled for a bit, but the perps saw me through. I also threw down neato before nifty and for some reason couldn't remember who was on a dime. I eventually saw the error if my ways.
Good Morning:
This was a nice, easy stroll through the park with only a tiny stumble at Neato/Nifty and some wait-and-see at Roc, Mr. Burns, and EMF. The theme was well hidden, to me, anyway, so the reveal was a cute Aha reveal. My husband was an avid fisherman but strictly catch and release. I always enjoy seeing Angela Lansbury, in any context.
Thanks, Karen, for a fun start to the week and thanks, sumdaze, for the chuckles and quirky comics. Today’s winners are the ones for the clues for Burst, Enrage, Skis, and Kale. And in the “things we learn from crosswords” category, add the eye-opening article on short handled hoes. Who knew?
Three of my nieces (sisters) are coming for lunch today. Other than sad occasions of wakes and funerals, I haven’t spent any time with them in ages, so we have lots of catching up to do.
Happy Birthday, Don G. 🎂🎉🎊🎁🎈
Have a great day.
Musings
-Lots of erasures with multiple options for a fill.
-Even the natick ANCH_/P_ET had a logical answer. Of all the POETS in the world…
-BTS and EMF had necessary cross support.
-Of all the ways to clue POSER…
-DAGGER conjures up Brutus to me. Et tu?
-Off to get a much overdue SNIP from my barber of 30 years who is also a former student.
Spent the weekend stacking wood and chain-saw limbing trees at camp. Still have all MY limbs (see the cartoon that goes with 6 down) but an aching back 😓.
Mondays are busy work days. Expect a fast easy puzzle.. but doing the "acrosses" first (as is my wont) ...unlike WEES I only got 5 answers in the upper half ...tossed the paper aside and called it quits early. 🤨
Hope everyone had a nice weekend.
Pleasant puzzle. Just one WAG for TERI. I don’t care for TURNIP GREENS or KALE, but got the answers anyway.
Sumdaze thanks for the SNL Bob Dylan skit. Loved it. BOB is my twin. We were born on the same day, he doesn’t know me however.
That bursting bubble cartoon got to me. How true to life.
that's a keeper?
Good Morning! Off to a good start to the week with today’s puzzle. Thanks, Karen.
But have to admit, zipped through too fast! So, now what??? I hadn’t even finished my tea! I like to linger a bit over a puzzle, just like Baby Bear, not too long, not too short, just right!! LOL!!
And thanks, sumdaze, for another fun & enlightening recap. Loved your ATOM joke!
LEDE: Okay, I admit, I’m a headline reader. Few articles capture my interest. At most, scanning a paragraph or two confirms a correct decision to move on.
One WO: EMF – unknown. Modern music’s not my thing.
SNIP: Last week I made a minor adjustment (snip) to my coiffure. When I went to get my hair cut, the woman had the audacity to say, "I hope you didn't get your last haircut here. You've definitely been butchered."
Happy birthday, Don (Hard-G) Gagliardo. Newcomers to the corner may not be aware that Don and CC collaborated on many puzzles before she struck out on her own.
OwenKL@3:32. That 2nd poem is a KEEPER! LOL!
Anonymous@7:17. "Goalkeeper" would have been fun. I was also thinking of those binders from the late 70's, Trapper Keepers.
CED@9:33. Perfect!
IM@8:01. Your lunch party sounds lovely. Enjoy!
First of all, a happy belated birthday to Tony. I love your posts. Hope you had a great day.
EMF was all perps.
Ray the bottom was easier than the top. When I am in a hurry and the top is mostly white, I skip to the bottom. Also a time saver is doing across and downs together if necessary.
One advantage of being a retired teacher is not having to grade papers. Yay! When tutoring a single student at a time you can grade as you go along. Also you have time to mentor the writing of essays and reports. I find the most effective way for that was to correspond by email, mark the spots that need work and make editing suggestions. The student must look at the whole project instead of fixing each point as it comes up. Then must rearrange and rewrite on his own accordingly, which takes more time then the one hour session.
The family of a friend of mine just discovered one of their senior members was being SCAMMED for years losing several hundred thousand dollars. Most of the scams were by phone. Among many others, one scam was getting him to authorize a monthly vacation rental charge that was automatically deducted from his bank account for years. He didn't even realize he was paying for this and never used it for a vacation. The family got power of attorney and is trying to get some of the money back,
Zip, zip, and FIR. An easy, breezy start of the week. So quick I never looked for the theme! Thanks for that, Sumdaze! Only stumbling blocks were EMF (what, you mean there's another 3-letter band besides ELO?) and NEATO, easily fixed by perps. Note: a sextant is useless without a chronometer. Owen, your second verse was spot on. I remember the early Folgers ads- "I will bring a mountain to...." yes, but a mountain of WHAT?!
Thank you Karen for a Monday FIR (please KEEP doing this!).
And thank you sumdaze for a Fonday review. Loved the triple concerto. And a different CeCi entertained us this morning!
Some favs:
43A THEME. In Wagner's 4 opera saga The Ring of the Niebelungen the composer essentially creates a new musical language comprised of many Leitmotifs ("leading themes"). Here is a brief exploration of a few of them.
60A LEDE. Online journalism has turned this practice on its head with what is essentially the LEDE (the gist of the article) at the ENDE, so you have to plow thru lots of ADS to get to it.
18A ARIA. Minor nit -- strictly speaking "Se Tu M'ami" isn't an ARIA, but rather a SONG, or CANZONE as it is not taken from an OPERA, but rather from Parisotti's collection of Arie antiche ("Ancient airs") by other composers. Nevertheless Cecilia Bartoli's rendition of it is to die for -- the likely fate of the poor shepherd it is addressed to (lyrics and translation).
2D HOE. IIRC the long-handled HOE was the weapon of choice for the butchers of the Cambodian killing fields, the KHMER ROUGE.
7D TERI. She's probably more famous for this ad lib in a Seinfeld clip.
Cheers,
Bill
Marvellous Monday. Thanks for the fun, Karen and sumdaze.
I FIRed in good time, with just a couple of inkblots.
This Canadian couldn’t remember which president was on your dime, and entered DDE. Perps corrected to FDR. (I did not know your American POET either, but perps were fair.)
I had EMO before EMF, and I’m HERE before IN.
CSO to melissa bee.
I thought of Lucina with the ANCHO chili.
I smiled to see TAXI and Uber ETA.
Happy Birthday to Don G.
Belated Happy Birthday to AnonT.
Have a great time with your sisters, Irish Miss.
Wishing you all a great day.
Neat Monday puzzle, many thanks, Karen. And always enjoy your commentary, Sumdaze, thanks for that too.
Well, initially it seemed like there was a lot of negative activity in this puzzle, where someone seems to have MESSED up and the A TEAM was ENRAGED and eyed him with DAGGERS and BURST out with you're OFF YOUR GAME and told him to EXIT.
Fortunately he was able to get into REHAB and then get a job driving a TAXI in his AREA which finally allowed him to pay his DEBTS. And now everyone who works with him says, THAT'S A KEEPER.
Have a great week coming up, everybody.
Hola!
Summer means a smaller collection so we finished in record time today.
Yum. ANCHO CHILES!
TURNIPS are one of the few foods I dislike.
Does anyone else remember DANA Andrews, the actor?
Thanks to Karen Lurie for the puzzle and to sumdaze for the interpretation.
I'm really tired so have to go now. You all have a marvelous Monday!
A Lurie PZL, presented by sumdaze...
This has the ease expected of a Monday XWD, with entertainment as its saving grace.
I learned ROES--once I saw that a perp wouldn't allow ROAN.
Nice to be reminded of the weird spelling of LEDE!
~ OMK
____________
DR: Three diagonals, far side.
The center line gives us an anagram (14 of 15) of two traditionally insulting words,
-or-
a well-aimed and literal (if misspelled) attack on an "over-solicitous" person whose head is full of stupidity, a ...
"BEGGER (sp!), DUMMKOPF"!
FLW "If one can solve Saturdays then dementia is at bay". I failed last Saturday and it's still gnawing at me. Just a couple of WAGS and erasures of bad guesses. NEOpartisan was the big one
Bilbo was stuck and POSED this question. "What have I got in my pocket?"
Ketchup on a hotdog is tunic RENDing for me
SLID : After retirement I did a limo gig. One snowy day I picked up , got on the highway and SLID a 360. I lied and said I was just about to replace tires.
Owner balked. A week later I picked up the same guy at Logan. He immediately checked the tires and immediately canceled his account with the limo company
WC
FLN:
Thanks for all the Birthday wishes and LOL cakes (CED). My day was spent unpacking the garage from last years move. I got most of my tools put up, all my expendables (nuts, bolts, hooks, screws, etc) put away and even got DW's car to fit next to my garage princess ('86 Alfa). Getting that off my to-do list was a great way to spend the day after the party was canceled (freeing up my time!) ;-)
Anyway, I enjoyed reading y'all (and the lovely wishes) during DW's mandatory cool-down / Gatorade breaks she made me take (no more ER for me, nope.).
Hi All!
Thanks for the quick Monday puzzle, Karen. Thanks sumdaze for the funtastic review.
//I'll See your SNL and raise you TANG :-)
WOs: ROAn (works for horses... [Hi OMK!]), alas -> AH ME
ESP: ROC, EMF (I like the song but didn’t know who did it)
Fav: SWELL [Superman @2:09]
NIFTY is another fun "throw-back" word.
Final hurdle for ala a lawyer: PASSES THE BAR [12]
{Bee, A+}
Happy Birthday Don "Hard" G! - Your mentorship of C.C. has been passed along X-fold to many Conerites under her tutelage.
I love Sam Bee - been watching her since she was on The Daily Show.
IM - You enjoy today with your fam & (maybe) a dram. Pop always said, "If you can make time for a funeral..."
WC - you are free to inspect my Birthday lunch for any signs of catsup / ketchup.
//BTW, since we got started on the garage early we had a quick light breakfast (granola, yogurt & coffee). In keeping the Hobbit tradition, we broke at 10:30a for Elevenses.
Cheers, -T
I liked this puzzle, sumdaze's excellent write-up, and all your comments.
I totally agree with what RosE said: "At most, scanning a paragraph or two confirms a correct decision to move on."
OwenKL, I loved your second verse.
Hand up for Neato/NIFTY. I like NIFTY better
Hornblower(Horatio)* was a master with the sextant
-T, got such a late start on Sunday that I missed the write-up. Hbday. Yes, second breakfast is a Hobbiton tradition. My dogs have mustard and relish (if I can't get piiccalilly). Btw, way to much mayo on the noodle salad.
YR, you bring back memories of my teaching(French**-at an Exam Tech School). I got behind on my tests and got my roommates to help. Joe said, "This kids paper is all scibbles?" 'Oh yeah, that's T… Ignore it, I'll give him a 60". Kid probably had a malady for which there's treatment today.
WC
* Anybody read the Series?For book reports my bud said, "Another Hornblower?". Then teacher said "No more HH!"
** Brings up ref to STEM vs STEAM. I think French became optional especially since ½ the corner has UNKs there. N' est-ce pas, -T?
WC - very astute. It was grocery store macaroni salad. The potato salad, however, was real Katz's Deli (yes, there's a couple in H-Town - I wanted a pastrami sandwich when I was in the ER and DW obliged... She's a KEEPER, her :-))
And no, no Parlez-vous Français. I have enough trouble with English & what un poco Spanish I've picked up.
Now, you need some code in any artificial language... I'm your guy.
//You should see the SPL (Splunk Query Language) I slung Friday afternoon. Did what the internet said couldn't be done, I did :-)
Cheers, -T
-T @7:59 PM Happy Belated Birthday 🎂 🎉 🥳 We were out of town last week and didn't do the SAT/SUN puzzles.
I used to code in SPL (System Programming Language) for HP3000 minis in the pre-Internet days. Neat system -- stack architecture, re-entrant code, direct memory addressing. But they were eventually replaced by HP-UNIX.
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