Saturday Themeless by Barbra Lin
After many years of enjoying crosswords and other word puzzles, Barb began constructing crossword puzzles in 2019. Her puzzles have appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Universal, Los Angeles Times, Fireball, and Boswords Themeless League. Barb lives with her husband in their empty nest in suburban Philadelphia and works as an engineer.
I was able to waltz through Barbara's excellent puzzle in 25 minutes. I know many of you will notice and appreciate that used only five 3-letter words: EPA, FRI, KIA, OHM and RAD.
Across:1. Subject of the Caldecott Honor book "The Right Word": ROGET - This took longer than it should have. I wonder if ROGET has a synonym for "Duh!"
6. Lines of praise: ODES.
10. "The __ Tour": record-setting 2023-24 concert series: ERAS - Daughter and two granddaughters attended this concert in this venue. Taylor returned here in October to watch her KC Chiefs' beau Travis Kelce play at Arrowhead.
14. Butterfly's stage: IMAGO - A familiar stage in crossword biology
15. Stroke of luck?: HOLE-IN-ONE - Yup, that's yours truly! A nice easy swing with a 9 Iron on a 115 yd hole.
17. City between Bismarck and Minneapolis on I-94: FARGO.
18. __ store: MOM AND POP - They are becoming extinct partly because of 30. Net income?: E-TAIL.
19. Swiss cheese?: FRANCS - Cheese is another euphemism for money
21. Camp site: MESS TENT - Can you find it?
25. Band whose work is featured in the musical "Head Over Heels": THE GO-GOS.
28. Go on and on: NATTER.
32. Cool kin: RAD.
33. Relish: SAVOR.
35. Cheek muscle, for short: GLUTE - 😀
36. Acrobat's company: ADOBE.
38. AQI monitor: EPA.
39. Played again: RERAN.
40. Brown ermine: STOAT.
41. "__ Baby": 2020 film set during a Jewish ritual: SHIVA - Rotten Tomatoes
43. Soul provider: KIA - Names for car models are common on the cwd lot
44. Shirley Jackson's genre: HORROR - I read The Haunting Of Hill House as a teenager in one of mom's condensed collection
46. Biological building block: STEM CELL.
48. Emotional wound: SCAR
50. Assortment: ARRAY.
51. Threat to some colonists: ANTEATER 😀
55. Seuss reptile: YERTLE - Was I the only one who first put turtle?
58. Barrier visited by tourists: CORAL REEF - My first thought was the Berlin Wall
 |
| The Great Barrier Reef |
61. One who doesn't like to just veg?: MEAT LOVER - MEAT EATER? Not so much.
62. Two-terminal device: DIODE.
63. Trees with oval leaves: ELMS.
64. Sub contractor?: DELI 😀
65. Elusive Himalayans: YETIS.
Down:
1. Jazz motif: RIFF - Some RIFFS are improvised.
2. Ilhan who was the first person to wear a hijab on the House floor: OMAR.
3. Remote target: GARAGE DOOR 😀
4. Holiday concoction: EGGNOG.
5. Extremely tight: TOO CLOSE TO CALL.
6. Omega, in physics: OHM
8. Bull in a product name: ELMER - It held the table I made in 9th grade shop together over 60 years ago.
9. Salt, say: SEASON 😀
10. Theme that plays over the closing credits: END TITLE - Final scene of Breakfast Club, END TITLE and credits. Bonus: What 1968 film used Strauss' Blue Danube for the END TITLE? (*answer at bottom)
12. Soon, long ago: ANON 😀
13. Third-qtr. month: SEPT.
16. Photogenic: INSTAGRAM READY - Whether the subject is ready or not
20. Beneficiary of a Sonic boom?: SEGA.
23. Shifts: MOVES.
25. Refuse: TRASH - ree FYUZ or REH fyus?
26. Was compelled: HAD TO.
27. Some campus returnees: SOPHS 😀
29. Ragtime dance: TURKEY TROT - More than you'd ever want to know (2:42)
31. Nephric: RENAL - RENAL: Of or relating to the kidneys
34. Yogurt-based condiment served with 24-Across: RAITA - A creamy Indian yogurt sauce with cucumber, mint and cilantro.
37. Counter points?: BAR SEATS 😀
42. Über: VERY.
45. Souped-up junker: RAT ROD.
47. Nation known for temperance: CARRIE 😀
49. "The Canterbury Tales" pilgrim: REEVE - A lot of ribaldry in this one
52. Time for some wrap parties: NOEL 😀
53. Zurich transport: TRAM - A 24-hour pass costs 8.80 Swiss francs (₣8.80) or $9.77
54. Stagger: REEL.
56. California wine town near Stockton: LODI - CCR laments being stuck in LODI (with lyrics):
59. Calendar abbr.: FRI.
37 comments:
Am I getting smarter, or are Saturday puzzles getting easier? Maybe a combination of both, I’m not sure. Doing a crossword puzzle every day definitely gives me a heads-up on certain standard “crosswordese” and that’s a big help during solves. Also, knowing a “perp” often helps with an answer that may be a little obscure. For example, knowing “Yertle the turtle” from Dr. Seuss helped me get “Shiva” and, once I got it, I realized I had heard the expression “sitting Shiva,” before, and even had a good idea what it meant. Anyway, not to “natter” on. FIR, so I’m happy.
Sorry, I left something out. I meant to say “Doing a crossword puzzle every day FOR YEARS, etc… But maybe you folks already knew that!
Good morning!
Nope. SEAman/SEAdOg did me in; SEASON never entered my mind. MESS TENT, INSTAGRAM, and NATTER never appeared. Time to put this one in the loss column and move on.
HURRAY!! Unclefred managed to FIR!! On a Saturday!! Perhaps SG is right: this may be an easier than usual Saturday CW. At any rate, a very nice Saturday CW. I admit it took me 28 minutes to FIR, and at one point I was stuck scratching my head until INSTAGRAMREADY popped into my pumpkin-head, and opened the floodgates to that area of the CW. Thanx, BL, for giving us this entertaining CW W/O a suffocating number of obscure names. And thanx too to HG for the excellent write-up. Geez, ya got a hole-in-one! Congratulations! I’ve never gotten a hole-in-one. Of course, I don’t play golf, either.
Good Morning:
I found the top half easier than the bottom half, likely due to some of the tricky cluing and the unknowns Rat Rod, Shiva, as clued, and stumbling over Ojai/Lodi, Turtle/Yertle, Meat Eater/Meat Lover, etc. I chuckled when Ant Eater appeared. The fill was lively, the cluing was clever, and the possibly record-breaking low number of three letter words was quite impressive. All in all, a very doable, yet mildly challenging solve.
Thanks, Barbara, for an enjoyable and satisfying Saturday offering and thanks, HG, for the never disappointing review, commentary, and dazzling visuals. Favorites were the cute little Stoat, the stunning Great Barrier Reef, and your memorable feat of a hole in one.
Is anyone watching Lessons in Chemistry on Apple TV? I'm struck by the resemblance of Brie Larson to a young Cybill Shepard in many scenes. I'm enjoying the series so far, although I've read reviews that are critical of the adaptation of the novel to the screen, but as I haven't read the book, I can't make a judgement.
Have a great day.
An almost FIR today. Many unknowns filled by perps and guesses but the cross of RAITA and SHIVA got me. RAEVA & SHEVA looked just as good. TURTLE before YERTLE took away 'RUADY' and let me guess INSTAGRAM READY (never heard of it) after changing SAILOR to SEASON. That seasoning opened up the NE but END TITLE and ROPE were both unknowns filled by solid perps.
ERAS Tour- why does every newspaper keep providing all the free publicity? Tickets? I wouldn't pay that much money see anybody do anything.
SEGA and "Sonic boom"- SONIC drive-ins are all over the South and I kept thinking SODA, not hedgehog. No video games or consoles at my house.
OMAR- lots of Congressional firsts for her other than hijab. First to be married to two guys at the same time. First to file tax joint tax return with someone other than her husband.
Speaking of Congress this is a very strange coincidence. The new Speaker is from my and Anon-T's hometown-Shreveport-. His church-Calvary Baptist- is where my mother was the organist who dragged me to church for at least ten years until I was 13 years old. Steve Scalise, who was NOT elected speaker, goes to the same church- St. Catherine's in Metairie- as my daughter and grandchildren. Only 300 miles apart. And Tony, he went to Captain Shreve HS.
FIR. Is it just me or was this Saturday puzzle very easy. The only time I took a second look was rat rod, which was completely unknown to me. Other than that I whizzed through as if it were a Wednesday crossword.
Took 11:01 to finish today.
I agree with most others about the ease of this Saturday puzzle, and the enjoyment of so few 3-letter words.
I didn't know: imago, Carrie (still don't), natter, what nephric meant, or which "word" 1Across referred to.
I can't seem to remember raita. I guessed correctly at diode crossing Lodi.
I'll have to check for a blue moon tonight - I FIRed a Saturday! BUT: myrtle->YERTLE, meat eater->MEAT LOVER, elsie->ELMER, rat car->RATROD, and napa->LODI.
Today is:
NATIONAL FIRST RESPONDERS DAY (everyday heroes)
NATIONAL INTERNAL MEDICINE DAY (takes a team to support my old carcass)
NATIONAL CHOCOLATE DAY (no chocolate is safe around me)
NATIONAL TRICK OR TREAT DAY (yeah, try going door-to-door tonight and see how full your sack gets)
Trivia: Hawkeye Pierce's birth name was Benjamin Franklin. His dad was a Last of the Mohicans fan, thus the nickname. He was born in Maine, not Iowa. Or so the scripts go.
I know I've raced in a TURKEY TROT regatta somewhere, some time. Just can't remember when or where.
Thanks to Barbara for creating a Saturday puzzle that even my dumb mass could get. And thanks to H.Gary for the fun trip through it.
Some wickedly clever clues in this puzzle, like those for ANT EATER, or FRANCS, but I could not work out the NE.
Unlike Subgenius, I have not gotten any smarter yet.
Thank goodness for HG’s recap.
Saturdays are different, I usually go through the puzzle once, end up with a few forlorn isolated answers and am ready to shred the paper but today perseverance paid off with a nice FIR. Some Klever Klues: “acrobat’s company”, “cheek muscle”, “sub contractor”, “net income“,…..”just veg”, ……Sonic boom”….”Nation/temperance”
Inkovers: golum/GOLEM, greatwall/CORALREEF, MEATeater/LOVER, ANTwasps/ANTEATER, alums/SOPHS
ERAS tour?….🦋Pupae? larva? nymph? adult ? or does it refer to Madame “Butterfly”: operatic “stage”? Nope: IMAGO (now I remember from a long ago CW), RATROD? NOËL in CW’s usually refers to carols not the French word for Christmas, unless (w)rap parties here refers to carollers
RAITA? (Ok, prolly had it before)
“Cheese” means money? FRANCS (so when you “cut the the cheese” you’re dividing up cash? 😄)
Tomorrow Oct 30 is a monumental day. Both Utica hospitals close and are decertified.
and the new 10 story 373 bed hospital opens simultaneously. Continuous movement of personnel and patients by ambulance 7AM to 7PM
Probably biggest local event since the opening of the Erie Canal. 😳
Thank you Barbara for a (me at least) a typical Saturday challenge, not the breeze that Husker describes. Came here thinking I got an FIR, but saw my FIW as soon I saw those cheeks!
Thank you Husker for a fine review and for showing me the error of my ways.
Some favs:
19A FRANCS. Clever.
22A GOLEM. Knew this because I'm a LOTR geek and the soulless character GOLLUM was patterned after the clue creature.
35A GLUTE. I had EMAIL for the cross, which does fit the clue, but ETAIL is better and GLUME, while it is a word is not a "cheek muscle". Shoulda proofread this one better.
41A SHIVA. Didn't know the movie, but SHIVA (and SEDER) are the only Jewish rituals that come readily to mind.
46A STEM CELL. The process by which the initial STEM CELLS differentiate into the final 200 or so cell types that comprise the over 50 trillion cells in the body is simply miraculous.
51A ANTEATER. Cleverer clue.
11D ROPE. Last to fall.
Cheers,
Bill
@Bill : We've got a box set of Hitchcock films, and we rewatched Rope about a month ago. Weird movie. Its only set is a penthouse apartment with a fake theater-scenery-style cityscape out the window. It must've been written as a one-act play, but Alfred decided to make a movie out of it. No action, no chase, no birds, no vertigo, no scary characters. Not Alfred's best effort.
We too thought she looked very much like cybill in many shots and with her hair styled similarly!
I may be in the minority today because i dis NOT find this puzzle a walk in the park. I struggled my way through and could not decode the SE. My face is red I missed CARRIE and ARROW since I know them both. I still don’t understand the SEGA/sonic boom clue. Anyone?
Anyway, unlike our intrepid Subgenius, I am proving to not be getting smarter.
BTW - have we lost Maloderous Manatee, or is he on Sabbatical?
Even though I’m still learning all the cw terminology and can’t finish with the speed most of you seem to, I still enjoyed finishing what at first looked impossible to me after a first run through. But like other days, getting and building on little by little in one spot or another (this time in the sw corner) finally got me there. I did have to replace Sony with Sega eventually- And is it just me or shouldn’t a crafter add a question mark to a clue such as “cheek muscle, for short “ when using the word ‘cheek’ out of context? That would have helped me solve it much quicker…
Sonic the hedgehog video game
A somewhat challenging but fun puzzle. Lots of clever clues such as Threats to some colonists… Anteater. The S.E. Filled in slower but I managed to FIR but my white-out got used extensively. Thanks Barbara for a satisfying Saturday fun 🏃♂️ run…. kkFlorida
Hmm,
Synonym for "duh."
My first thought was "Doh," but when you think about it (why, I don't know...) Doh seems to be self referential, where duh can be attributed to some one else...
Synonym for duh, hmm, there is a video somewhere in this mash of ads.... curious, duh, bugs bunny. Doh, Homer Simpson. It seems the English language is becoming more animated...
I will do some more research, and report. one thing I take pride in, is stupid...
“Rope” is actually one of my favorite Hitchcock films. It was based on a real incident, the film itself was shot in real time….the camera fades into a black whatever (suit jacket, drape, etc) when it’s time to put another reel of film in. A classic Hitchcock film for me, and another standout role for Jimmy Stewart.
I enjoyed solving this well-constructed puzzle.
I wouldn't exactly call this one a walk in the park, but it wasn't a slog, either. Lots of clever misdirection, and many AHA! moments. Got 'r done today, not as quickly as Unclefred, but done nonetheless, thanks to copious quantities of P&P. (and lots of WiteOut!)
Anonymous @ 11:12 ~ Most certainly the hair style contributed greatly to the resemblance. Ms. Larson and Ms. Shepard both exude a certain subtle, yet strong, air of sophistication and elegance, I think.
kkFlorida @ 12:06 ~ I believe you are the person who was so looking forward to Bosch: Legacy, Season 2. That prompted me to binge Season 1 and then watch Season 2 episodes. I enjoyed the original Bosch very much but was leery about the sequel pivoting to his transition from cop to PI, thinking he'd have a lesser presence. I was pleasantly surprised to see he's still the heavyweight and hasn't lost an ounce of forcefulness in words or action. I'd be interested in your opinion about Maddy's character; I have very mixed feelings and I'm not sure if I'm reacting to the character or the actor.
To answer the question that Gary didn't ask, I think:
1 ohm - 2V, 2A, order a 5 watt resistor
3 ohm - 6V, 2A, order a 15 watt resistor
6 ohm - 8V, 1.33 A, order a 15 watt resistor
12 ohm - 8V, 0.66A, order a 10 watt resistor
Figure on a cooling load of 35 watts for the circuit.
But I could be wrong. The last time I did this type of analysis was when I was studying for my FCC 1st Class Radiotelephone license.
[You may want to skip the rest. I wrote it more as a memory exerciser than an interesting tidbit.]
The test was in 4 elements. Elements 1 and 2 were easy, and were mostly broadcasting requirements such as what constitutes a station identification. If passed they earned the applicant a 3rd class license. Most radio station dj/board ops had these. Part 3 was heavy on today's type of exercise, as well as "if C1 becomes shorted, the voltage across R7 would be a) very low, b) low, c) high, d) very high, e) no change." If the first three elements were passed, the applicant earned a Second Class ticket. The techs who worked on business, fire and police department radios needed this license. Element 4 contained a little broadcast radio rules, and a lot of TV technology. Passing all four earned the "First Fone" license. All TV stations were required to have someone with this license to be signed on to be responsible for the technical quality of the signals whenever the station was on the air.
Oh, one little thing I forgot - when I drove from Kentucky to Detroit to sit for the exam, I learned that the FCC couldn't possibly accept the official United States currency for the exam. I had to walk to a United States Post Office to exchange my unwanted dollars into an acceptable money order.
But it all seemed worth it when I landed a job working at the TV station at Marshall University. I learned a lot there, and had many great experiences (including meeting Stan Kenton and Robin MacNeil.) Unfortunately the job didn't pay much, which is how I decided to load up my VW microbus and move to LA.
Hi Y'all! Interesting & challenging puzzle, thanks, Barbara. Took me 38 minutes and more than usual red-letter runs to fill this one, but I may have been denser than usual. All I've wanted to do this week is sleep. Maybe I'll hibernate this winter.
Thanks, Gary, for another great expo. I read "Haunting of Hill House" in that same Reader's Digest Condensed Book while growing up. No book stores in our little towns. My dad loved RECB and so did I. The arrival of a new one was an occasion. He had dibs on it. I had a subscription for years after I married.
Can't believe I didn't "get" CARRIE Nation until Gary posted her even when I filled it right. She was was a notorious person in our area and often mentioned.
I thought this was a good Saturday puzzle, as I had to leave it for a while but was able to FIR after the break. Never heard of CARRIE Nation, nor RATROD, and had to change "great wall" to CORAL REEF. Thanks to all for the fun!
Maddy has always been the weak spot to me, in both the original and Legacy. I agree that Titus is consistently great.
waseely@10:01AM, you and I must be on the same wavelength, EMAIL
was the only error I made also. I also agree that this CW was abit of a slog. I started well in the NW but got stuck. Tried the SW but switched to the SE. That started to pay off and when I grokked some of the NE it finally gave me me that INSTAGRAMREADY and everything finally fell apart, except as noted above.
Barb and Gary are to be praised for their fine give and take. Loved the cluing for the 14's and 10's , it gave nothing away with the wording.
Never give away what should be earned.
Sayonara
Greetings! This was an “open book” puzzle for me today, but I learned some new stuff. Thanks, Barbara. Some Saturdays I’m in the mood to tackle the toughies, and today I was. Fun!
My Seuss reptile missed on Grinch. Don't know what he actually is, but that was my guess before the correct answer filled in.
Thanks, H. Gary. You explained it better than Google!! Congrats on your HOLE IN ONE!!
Hi All!
I played with Barbara's puzzle on-and-off all morning / afternoon and #nope.
But!, I did better than I normally do on a Saturday so there's that going for me.
Thanks HG for the expo and filling in my copious blanks (SEA what?, what? TENT, INSTA???ADY. Jowel (cheek muscle) was right out. Same with Great Wall at 59a.
Also 1st wrong thinks: Tears for Fears at "Head Over Heels"'s clue... ibid. wanting "tots" for Sonic (the restaurant) going through a 'boom.'
Oy!
I think Hawkeye in 60a's clue refers to the Marvel Universe's uberhero.
Being in IT seemingly forever, ADOBE's clue didn't fit me a bit, Ray-O.
//funny(peculiar, not ha-ha)-aside: Eldest's mental "escape" from PhD studies is performing circus trapeze. No!, really!
BigE - Minor correction: I went to C.E. Byrd; DW went to Cap'n Shreve.
Good on everyone who completed today's grid. I'll lick my wounds and move on to Monday (maybe lurk tomorrow but my dance card is already filling up).
Speaking of... Jinx - a HAM license has been in my todo-queue since I was an undergrad in EE. I've heard the test got easier and no longer requires Morse Code (I can't be dyslexic over the air too! :-))
Oh, Fav: Deli's clue. Did you know they brought in a Contractor* [Gary Gulman] to abbreviate the states?
Cheers, -T
*if you like words (and I know you do) watch it if you've never seen it - or, if you have seen it, watch it again; doesn't get old.
A-t, loved the Contractor skit. Thanks.
-T, I got my first (novice) ham license when I was 12. Never could copy 13 wpm (mainly because I couldn't print that fast,) so I followed that with a Technician Class. Same written test as General Class, but 5 WPM. The written test was a piece of cake compared to Element 3 of the Radiotelephone test.
As an aside, I never used my 1st Class ticket after I left the TV station. But I did use the knowledge when I went to work for the phone company. I was the only person on site who could troubleshoot problems to the component level, and was their best oscilloscope guy (even though I wasn't all that proficient.) I was installing an early computer-controlled switching system (the first large system of the type.) The CPUs were built from a bunch of NAND dates and supporting electronics. After I was promoted into the engineering department, the manufacturer retrofitted the large systems using 8086 chips.
Before I forget, Anon-T ... that link to the 'state abbreviations' was really funny ! I loved it...
Thank You Barbara Lin for a very challenging puzzle, that was also very engrossing, and at times ... very frustrating. I eventually completed it, and hopefully, learnt something new in the process. On reading about your profession .. who says Engineers can't also be great wordsmiths ? ...
Thank You Husker G, for a very chatty commentary blog, and always full of various trivia ... like your "hole in one" ... ;-o) Seriously, thats a great achievement, and thank god, you had someone else in attendance, who witnessed the whole thing ... and fortuitously had a camera handy just for such an occasion.
I had a very tough time esp. with th upper left hand corner. But, with some Google help, it all came together...
In circa 1945, after World War II, VE-Day ... One US Dollar was worth 5.20 Swiss Francs ...
Now, One US Dollar is worth only 0.90 Swiss Francs.
Although, now, unlike after WWII, ... neither currency is convertible to gold specie or coins. IN 2022, the Swiss GNP was less than 3.1 percent of the US GNP ...
Both ROTI and RAITA were gimmes.
I have to mention an apparent oxy-moron in HuskerG's photograph photolinked image of ROTI ...
As the Clue says , " Unleavened Flatbread ".... Therefore, the resulting product must be FLAT and without any BUbbles !! However, the photo shows obvious signs of bubbling, and the light color of the flatbread .. which looks suspiciously like a Naan or a Kulcha ...
The bubbling, like the rising of a pizza dough, occurs because of a) fermentation and b) because the dough being more of the enriched flour variety...
However, the photo is correct ... it is the variety of a Tandoori Roti, a specialized roti made for and in a tandoori oven. This dough is heavy on enriched flour, not whole wheat, and is fermented ... and yes, it is also called a roti. But, it does not match the definition called for in the clue. Go figure.
Finally, SHIVA ... a solemn occasion of mourning in a jewish family rite, is also the name of one of the pantheon of Hindu Gods. Thats why I remember that name, so well.
Have a great rest of the weekend, all you folks.
Husker G is at work, bringing us this Lin XWD...
I did well for Saturday, finishing about 50% before turning to cheats.
But I could not read Ms. Lin's mind in the lower left (SR) corner. I got the first and last letters of 58A, for instance, but couldn't fill the rest.
And over on the opp. side, I cannot deal with KIA as an automaker. That acronym always stands for "Killed In Action" for me.
~ OMK
____________
DR: Four diagonals, three on the near side.
They are loaded with either too many consonants or too many vowels.
But the top line on the near end is promising. Yup! It offers an anagram (11 of 14) that resorts to Latin and Greek to signal a "Final Warning,"or...
"CAVEAT OMEGA"!
Prof M @ 3:17 ~ I'm glad to know that I'm not alone in my opinion about Maddy and, the more I think about it, I believe my reactions are to both the character and the actor. In all of the original Bosch episodes, I never felt that Maddy's emotions were natural, they always seemed forced and it was almost like she was just reading lines, without any substantive meaning or feeling. In Legacy, Maddy goes to the other extreme, especially with the rookie bravado and unresolved anger issues. Personally, I think the actor, Madison Lintz, was miscast as she just doesn't yet have the maturity or experience for such a high-profile role, particularly when sharing the screen with two pros like Titus Welliver and Mimi Rogers.
Google Carrie Nation, aka “Hatchet Granny” 😎
====> Darren / L. A.
Had a real stutter-start again on this one, but once things began to fill, got on a roll. Some pretty obfuscated clues (loved the one for ANTEATER! Remember “Zot” in the comic “B.C.”?) but doable.
One gripe: ENDTITLE is what the credits at the end of a movie are called, not the music; that’s the “end credits song/music” (I used to work in the biz, shooting main title backgrounds, i.e. the images behind the opening credits, a.k.a. “main titles”)…
====> Darren / L.A.
PS — I’m always a day late here in the Corner because I’m a night owl and do these in the wee-ish hours, like 1am. Hate rising early! 😆
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