Hay there, everyone! sumdaze here. Today's theme:
It's a horse, of course!
Out of the gate, we'll begin with today's reveal:
58 Across. Deal made with shrewd bargaining, or a swap that could be made with the ends of 17-, 25-, 37-, and 47-Across?: HORSE TRADE.
A HORSE TRADE is as defined in the clue, but this reveal is also telling us that we can substitute (that is, TRADE) the word HORSE for the ends of each themed answer.
Note: "Ends" is used instead of "words" because 37-Across is hyphenated. 
Rounding up the themers, we have:
17 Across. Prerequisite for going into labor?: WORK PERMIT. WORKHORSE
The question mark indicates a bit of misdirection about childbirth. A WORK PERMIT is an official document that allows one to work.
A WORKHORSE is a hardworking person.
25 Across. Hypothetical stuff in space: DARK MATTER. DARK HORSE
A DARK HORSE is a little-known, unexpectedly successful entrant in a contest.
37 Across. Requiring a lot of careful attention: HIGH-MAINTENANCE. HIGH HORSE
HIGH-MAINTENANCE is as defined in the clue.
Someone described as being on their HIGH HORSE is acting as if they are superior to those around them.
47 Across. Unvarying background sound: WHITE NOISE. WHITEHORSE
There are a few options for this one. WHITEHORSE is the largest city in northern Canada and the capital of the Yukon. A hero can come riding up on a symbolic WHITE HORSE. WHITE HORSE is also the name of a 2008 song by Taylor Swift. We could go on, but let's take a look at the grid instead.
I also noticed a Geography mini-theme. If 47-Across is the Yukon capital, that is Geography question #1. We have eleven more so put on your Geography hats!
Across:
1. Lively Brazilian dance: SAMBA.
6. Diet that's high in 10-Across: KETO. (see next clue)
10. Macronutrients that may be saturated: FATS.
14. Inbox filler: EMAIL.
15. Disney snowman voiced by Josh Gad: OLAF. Josh Gad was recently a guest on Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! That is when I first realized I was confusing him with panelist Josh Gondelman. (Sorry, Josh G.!)
16. Taj Mahal city: AGRA. [Geography question #2]
6. Diet that's high in 10-Across: KETO. (see next clue)
10. Macronutrients that may be saturated: FATS.
14. Inbox filler: EMAIL.
15. Disney snowman voiced by Josh Gad: OLAF. Josh Gad was recently a guest on Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! That is when I first realized I was confusing him with panelist Josh Gondelman. (Sorry, Josh G.!)
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| (l to r) Josh Gad, Olaf, and Josh Gondelman |
16. Taj Mahal city: AGRA. [Geography question #2]
19. "Hacks" Emmy winner Smart: JEAN. (b. Sept. 13, 1951 in Seattle) I remember her from Designing Women (1986-1993)
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| Jean is the blonde. |
22. Recipe amt.: TBSP. To make pizza sauce, I combine 1 TaBleSPoon dried MINCEd onion with a small can of tomato sauce, a handful of fresh herbs from my garden, and a few turns of the peppermill. Let simmer.
28. Bother: EAT AT. If something is bothering you, you could say it is EATing AT you. In that case you might need some 29-DownS.
30. __ Scotia, Canada: NOVA. [Geography question #3] Nova Scotia is one of Canada's ten provinces. Its estimated population is over one million people. Visitors enjoy exploring its charming coastal towns, eating lobster, and whale watching.
31. Flirt with: CHAT UP. Like the clue, I associate this phrase with a romantic purpose to the conversation. Others equate CHAT UP with simply "shooting the breeze". How do you use it?
33. First __ tent: AID. I always appreciate these volunteers at events.
34. Co. such as Google Fiber: ISP. Company and Internet Service Provider
41. "__ queen!": YAS. "YAS queen" is a slang expression that signifies celebration, support, and empowerment. Wiki says it is mostly used by the 42-Across community.
I did not care for this A crossing the name of a Brazilian state.
42. Part of LGBTQ+: GAY.
43. More irate: MADDER. I'm mad for the lyrics to this song from the Broadway musical Wonderland.
44. Conference freebies: SWAG. I think this acronym stands for Stuff We All Get ... but opinions vary.
46. Home Depot department: PAINT.
53. Combinatorics discipline: MATH. Combinatorics, as the name suggests, is an area of discrete MATH that looks at possible combinations. (There is more to it than that but this will suffice for today.) A sample problem is "A committee of three people needs to be made from a group of ten participants. How many possible combinations of committee members is possible?"
42. Part of LGBTQ+: GAY.
43. More irate: MADDER. I'm mad for the lyrics to this song from the Broadway musical Wonderland.
44. Conference freebies: SWAG. I think this acronym stands for Stuff We All Get ... but opinions vary.
46. Home Depot department: PAINT.
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| Don't forget to ask for a stirring stick! |
53. Combinatorics discipline: MATH. Combinatorics, as the name suggests, is an area of discrete MATH that looks at possible combinations. (There is more to it than that but this will suffice for today.) A sample problem is "A committee of three people needs to be made from a group of ten participants. How many possible combinations of committee members is possible?"
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| Use this formula to get the answer 120 combinations. |
54. Big name in boxers: HANES. Chonies -- not dogs!
55. Some party shenanigans: DARES. This clue refers to the party game Truth or Dare.
Penny, Bernadette, and Amy play Truth or DARE on TBBT.
57. Native of ancient Peru: INCA. [Geography question #4]
63. Free kick cause: FOUL. I'm going to go with Isaac McAdoo's penalty kick in Season 3 of Ted Lasso (3:11 min.).
63. Free kick cause: FOUL. I'm going to go with Isaac McAdoo's penalty kick in Season 3 of Ted Lasso (3:11 min.).
Warnings: Spoiler alert and F-bombs.
64. Line on a graph: AXIS. More math!! 😎
65. Camera giant: NIKON.
66. Fragrant trees: FIRS.
67. Prying: NOSY.
64. Line on a graph: AXIS. More math!! 😎
66. Fragrant trees: FIRS.
67. Prying: NOSY.
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| Get it? They're elephants. |
68. Die down: ABATE. Def.: to decrease in force or intensity.
I always associate this word with IRS penalties. I have written many letters for clients asking that the IRS ABATE their penalty.
Speaking of the IRS, it is time for my annual PSA announcement.... Tax season in the U.S. is just around the corner. The IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and the Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs offer free tax help for taxpayers who qualify. This will be my 7th year as a VITA preparer. D-Otto volunteered for many years, too. If you know someone who needs assistance with filling out their forms, perhaps recommend they try VITA. We do both Federal and State income taxes. Certain complicated returns are out-of-scope. Use this link to find an IRS VITA location near you.
Down:
1. Do some needlework: SEW. and 26 Down. Do some needlework: KNIT.
2. "Yo te __": AMO.
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| "Vitiate" is a Saturday word. |
4. Cyclist's route through a park: BIKE PATH. How to find bike paths on Google Maps video (1 min.)
5. Swiss mountains: ALPS. [Geography question #5] Britannica.com
6. Divided Asian peninsula: KOREA. [Geography question #6]
7. Wabbit hunter Fudd: ELMER.
8. __ chi: martial art: TAI. ...not to be confused with chai tea!
10. Sizzling Tex-Mex fare: FAJITA.
11. Customer service representative: AGENT. They as are elusive as the secret spy AGENTs.
12. Tiny amount: TRACE.
13. More reasonable: SANER.
18. Takeoff approx.: ETD. "Approximation" is abbreviated, so it "Estimated Time of Departure".
21. Big D cager: MAV. Big D is Dallas, TX. A cager is a basketball player. Dallas' NBA team is the Mavericks.
22. Futuristic: TECHY. TECHY is an adjective which means "characterized by technical sophistication". Its first known use was in 1977.
23. Brazilian state where the 1-Across originated: BAHIA. [Geography question #7] Bahai is one of Brazil's 26 states. Its estimated population is over 14 million people. The Travel Channel says that Bahia is Brazil's "pulsing epicenter of Afro-Brazilian culture".
24. Bucks: STAGS. ...not slang for money.
27. Surfer's gear?: MODEM. web surfer
29. Stomach, cutely: TUM. stomach --> tummy --> TUM
32. Winter solstice celebrant: PAGAN. Here is an NPR piece from last December 20th.
33. One or more: ANY.
34. World's most populous country: INDIA. [Geography question #8]
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| Click to enlarge. |
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| I like this graphic, too. |
35. Aromatherapy choice: SCENT. Eucalyptus is one of my favorites.
36. Capital of Western Australia: PERTH. [Geography question #9] Western Australia is one of Australia's six states and two territories. Perth's population is estimated at 2.3 million people. It is known for its beaches, favorable climate, and outdoor activities. A non-stop flight from Sydney to Perth is about five hours.
38. "Othello" villain: IAGO. CliffsNotes explains why IAGO is a villain:
Iago in this play, has the qualities of the Devil in medieval and Renaissance morality plays: He is a liar, he makes promises he has no intention of keeping, he tells fancy stories in order to trap people and lead them to their destruction, and he sees other's greatest vulnerabilities and uses these to destroy them.
39. Day break?: NAP. This one had some fun wordplay. This break in the day is a rest -- not the dawning of a new day.
40. Tracy/Hepburn romantic comedy: ADAM'S RIB. ESP for me. Here is the trailer for this 1949 film. (I love her houndstooth robe!)
44. Amazing deals: STEALS. The price is so good it is like you are STEALing it.
45. Director Anderson: WES. There is something about the pacing of Wes Anderson's films that make them fun to watch. You can see what I mean in this short clip from The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) with Ralph Fiennes, Tony Revolori, and Edward Norton.
47. Faint smell: WHIFF.
39. Day break?: NAP. This one had some fun wordplay. This break in the day is a rest -- not the dawning of a new day.
40. Tracy/Hepburn romantic comedy: ADAM'S RIB. ESP for me. Here is the trailer for this 1949 film. (I love her houndstooth robe!)
44. Amazing deals: STEALS. The price is so good it is like you are STEALing it.
45. Director Anderson: WES. There is something about the pacing of Wes Anderson's films that make them fun to watch. You can see what I mean in this short clip from The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) with Ralph Fiennes, Tony Revolori, and Edward Norton.
47. Faint smell: WHIFF.
48. Vietnam's capital: HANOI. [Geography question #10]
49. Rack up: INCUR. For example, one can rack up (INCURE) penalties.
50. Actor Elba: IDRIS. Is he the new 007 ???!!!
51. Full of attitude: SASSY.
56. Sicilian volcano: ETNA. [Geography question #11]
58. Solo of "Star Wars": HAN.
59. Kitchen gadget brand: OXO.
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| OXO's jar opening tool makes a good gift for people of a certain age. |
60. Pseudonym letters: AKA. Also Known As
61. Decimal point: DOT. "And" also fit ... and is more correct.
62. Opposite of WSW: ENE. [Geography question #12]
Time for me to mosey along. Happy trails!
40 comments:
The only reason I wouldn’t give this puzzle the “coveted” title of a “walk in the park” is the potential Natick of “Bahia” and “Yas.” But that shouldn’t be enough to hold anyone back.
FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
Never got the theme on my way through the grid, but sliding to the bottom was fun. My DRUID didn't last. When I'm around, FAJITAs don't last long, either. Yum. Thanx for the exercise, David, and for the amusing expo, sumdaze. (Chonies -- had to look it up. I guessed the term was derived from cojones, nope, calzones.)
Agreed, YAS was lame. Can someone tell me what FIR means?
Anonymous @6.08 a.m.
“FIR” - Finished it right, or solved the puzzle correctly and completed
“FIW” - Finished it wrong- Did not do the above
Finished It Right.
Thank you, David, and thank you, sumdaze!
sumdaze not only had today's very nice review published today, but she is also the author of "Canine Closet" at the Universal Crossword page!
FIR without erasure, getting my SWAG @ TECHY x YAS.
Google Fiber? Are they Google Fibre up C-Eh's way?
DARES? Aren't you much less likely to end up naked of you choose Truth? Asking for a friend.
Your actual departure time is when the plane pushes back from the gate. If your plane pushes back on time and then gets shuffled off to the ground-hold-purgatory parking lot for an hour, it is still an on-time departure. Snooty private plane users say "wheels up" for ETD.
I was going to suggest that a better clue for YAS would be "Red Sox great #8," but then I remembered that Carl's nickname was speld YAZ.
Thanks to David for the fun Monday puzzle, and to sumdaze for another fun review. I learned (maybe) chonies today, and will think twice before ordering a calzone ever again.
FLN - Big Easy, I've said "re-rig the spinnaker," meaning that we'll need it again before the race is over. Doesn't mean to fly it, just get sheets/guys and halyard back into position, and make sure there aren't any twists in the sail itself. (We called the person who has that task the "sewer rat" because it's done largely below decks while everyone else is out in the breeze.)
I feel the wording on the revealer got kind of clunky just to justify TRADE as part of a "first words have something in common" theme revealer. It would've been a great revealer if it was a late-week puzzle with wacky themers where the horses actually get swapped around.
The theme actually helped my downs-only solve in the middle W, where I had BIKE LANE and would've considered SITE MAINTENANCE crossing it, except SITE HORSE isn't a thing. BAHIA rang a bell, but TECHY is odd fill and "Bucks" could've been deer, money, or a verb.
And, of course, the standing rigging are the stays and lifelines, while the running rigging are halyards, sheets, guys, vang, topping lift, downhaul, preventer, barber hauler and the like.
BAHIA Honda isn't a foreign car dealership, it's a state park in the Florida Keys.
Took 4:50 today to finish my hobby.
I agree with the others about the unfortunate crossing of yas and bahia.
Or, either word individually.
I knew today's actress (Jean) - I loved the show "Hacks."
FIR, but i had to take a WAG at the crossing of Bahia and yas (?). I've never heard of the expression "yas queen". Probably because I know nothing about the "gay" community.
Otherwise this puzzle was definitely Monday fare. And the perps helped where needed.
The theme was clever and the rest of the puzzle was most enjoyable.
Good Morning:
It took me a few seconds to fully understand the revealer because, at first, I was trying to parse types of horses from the theme endings. Then, all of a sudden, there was an Aha moment in recognizing the actual theme. Yas came easily as we’ve had it before but Bahia needed perps. The theme execution and fill were above average for a Monday, IMO.
Thanks, David, for a pleasant start to the week and thanks, sumdaze, for the usual fun and facts. Both cow comics were comical, but the nosy elephant neighbors wins Best in Show! Enjoyed the excerpt from Wonderland, even though I’m unfamiliar with the Broadway show. Also liked the Ted Lasso video as it reminded me of how much I enjoyed that series.
My nephew and his wife became first-time grandparents yesterday to baby Camille Catherine. (I’ve lost track of the number of great or grand nieces and nephews there are in my family.)
Have a great day.
Finished fairly quickly but like many puzzles easy at the top becoming progressively difficult moving south.
For some reason I didn’t grasp the horse theme.
“Of course, of course”
Held off on Tango (Argentina not Brazil anyway). “Futuristic” is TECHY? Usually means mechanically or scientifically involved or detailed
Thought “chat up” just meant polite conversation. BAHIA looked better than BAHIe which changed YeS to YAS
“Decimal points” are commas and commas are decimal points in much of Europe. EUR 2.000 is 2 thousand euros but €1,50 is a euro and a half.
“combinatorics” 😳, hey it’s only Monday! Perps to the rescue! Reminded me of the Ozisms in “Wicked” disrespectation, encouragize, horrendible etc.
I developed idiopathic tinnitus, sometimes louder than others. Conveniently providing “White Noise” when DW is enumerating a list of errands on my day off. “Huh, what was that?”🧏
“Amazing deals” STEALS, I believe
that’s called shoplifting 😲
Tiptoe thru the tulips … MINCE
Celestial aromatherapy: “Heaven ____ “… SCENT
Tattoo artist: INCUR
Back to work today. And they didn’t change my password!
FIR but didn’t know what YAS was, but I figured the Brazilian state had to end in Á. I almost goofed at PERTH; I tried to spell it PERse. To further complicate that little corner of the grid, I entered China before INDIA.
Anyway, great CW and thanks sumdaze for the very nice review and for keeping track of the geography fills.
Musings
-A fun puzzle, a delightful write-up and golf weather on the Great Plains in January!
-In 1948, DARK HORSE Harry Truman, who did not MINCE words, became a WORK HORSE campaigner and knocked Thomas Dewey off his HIGH HORSE
-CHAT UP: What I do to every clerk who appears to be bored
-Renee, I agree on YAS. I cannot see how this word would ever become part of my spoken vocabulary. I had to change to the “A” to fill my last cell
-Combinatorial: A 52 card deck can be arranged in 8 followed by 67 zeros ways
-TAI Chi and TAEBO
-A final resort when internet goes down: Unplug the MODEM and plug it back in.
NFL Addendum
-HORSE TRADE: Saquon Barkley showed yesterday that the NY Giants may have made the worst trade in NFL history. He was a STEAL for the Eagles and showed it yesterday
-More NFL: If Washington had not racked up so many fumbles, they might have made it a game
Our 33' Morgan offshow Islander, wasn't used for racing. No spinnaker wasn't needed. Our last boat was a 41' Bristol trawler, which was nice when it was hot because you could be in the air-conditioned cabin and out of the sun if you weren't at the helm. We sold that back in 95, and with a 560 gallon fuel tank. I can't imagine having to to fill up at today's diesel prices.
Despite the clunky AMO, YAS, BAHIA, and TECHY, it was a fairly easy solve as I trotted down the stretch in 11:01. As of late, IDRIS and Elba seem to make the most proper name appearances of anyone. I liked the theme and the puzzle, nice work David. sumdaze ~ thank you for always making Monday mornings a little brighter! Nice to see you are keeping up with modern slang - chonies?? 😂
It was undoubtedly a very poor decision by the Giants to resign Saquon Barkley, but I believe he left in free agency, and thus, it was not an actual trade.
Or as Richard III cried, "A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!"
Well done, David: a nicely-constructed Monday challenge with a clever theme, and you made this geography-lover quite happy with all your geographical entries. I also love misdirections in clues, so please include more of those in your next puzzle!
Sumdaze, thanks for your usual capable and entertaining guidance. Good ol' Elmer Fudd: "Where is dat wascally wabbit?"
Morgans were very fine boats until Catalina bought the company. I don't remember the Morgan Islander, just the Islander company, especially their Freeport 36 - more of motor cruiser than a real sailboat, but very nice below. Lots of sailors buy trawlers as they get older, but I went the motorhome route.
Unless you are a Cox TECHY, then the customer must unplug the MODEM, unscrew the coax, reinstall the coax, plug in the MODEM, then tell them which lights are on so they can admit it's their problem.
sumdaze ~ I also liked your inclusion of the world population distribution graphics, most surprising to me is that Vietnam has over 100 million.
Nice puzzle sumdaze. Was LHASA an Easter egg?
Jinx, I suppose it could have been clued as "Red Sox great #8 in Liverpool." ANYTHING would have been an improvement.
Not to carp, but today's effort just did not fall within my enjoyment range. Fortunately for me, the recap by sumdaze certainly did! I fondly remember the smell of my new Wilson A-2000 baseball mitt. That cow did not die in vain!
From late last night...
I too, had no recollection of popsicle stick joke. So I looked it up:
turns out it was so long ago I had just forgotten...
Yas crossing Bahia, on a Monday?
I don't care what day it is, this is why I don't construct crosswords,,, I would never be able to live with myself...
Jinx, thank you for the Bahia state park link! I had no idea! So far I have travelled to key west three times, and each time I play the "find the name of the key signs game!" I swear, every time I go, they sneak in new key names!
I must check this park out next time. Looks very interesting! It's on big pine key, but it seems the park itself is on Bahia key? (Which may be on a smaller key for all I know...)
Thank you, Jinx. Yes, but I clued it differently so I didn't notice it until I saw the ready-to-publish version.
H-Gary@9:20. "In 1948..." Well done!
IM@8:43. Congratulations on the new addition to your family! Another C.C. in this world is a wonderful thing!
Next time you're down yonder, go to No Name Pub (on No Name Key.) Good pizza and chili. Burgers look great, but I haven't tried them. There are (or were) thousands of dollar bills stapled on the ceiling and walls, a leftover custom from when commercial fishermen would leave money at the pub so they would have enough money to buy a drink when they return from the sea.
It's a little hard to find. Turn north on the road just before the Big Pine Key Winn Dixie, and the road will wind its way through a couple of neighborhoods before you get to the Pub. Well worth it.
Fun Monday puzzle, many thanks, David. And thank you, too, for your always helpful commentary, Sumdaze. Always appreciated.
Well, it looks as though OLAF had a good start, dancing a SAMBA and then taking time to EAT AT a FAJITA along with a dish containing KETO and FATS. His AGENT told him that if he DARES to do things like that, he should get a WORK PERMIT and become a TECHY and that way earn funds to make trips to KOREA, and INDIA and HANOI. After those trips OLAF could then get a HIGH MAINTENANCE HORSE, and ride him on BIKE PATHS in the ALPS. Olaf did all that and said it was a lot of fun.
Have a great week coming up, everybody.
Monday puzzle. Solve and write up perfect week starter, enjoyed.
Free Agent Saquon reflects example of the return of the RB position to the NFL. Commanders, like the Lions, ran outta gas. Mastermind Reid and errorless day by #15 showed the way.
Greet the day.
The worst name fest I can remember ever seeing, by my expanded count 25, with 7 DNKs. This was a Wednesday on a Monday CW with all those names. Other comments I could make others have beat me to it, other than that Iago's description reminds me of ... never mind, no politics. That math example reminded me of how much I have totally forgotten about math, like what the "!" means. Anyway, I did manage to FIR in 14, needed some perps for some names. Thanx DK, other than the over abundance of names, a clever CW, with a terrific theme. Sumdaze, thanx for the write-up, as always, both informative and entertaining. No BDs today?
Enjoyed the theme. Hand up about YAS QUEEN. Quite FOUL. For me the nasty part was crossing it with TECHY, which is almost as odd. Why not make it SAS (Airline with Copenhagen hub) and TECHS (Who you call for help). WAG to FIR.
Here I was with my co-worker friend Draulio and his lovely wife and daughter, who are from BAHIA.
They are back now living in BAHIA. BAHIA is a major city in Brazil, worth remembering. Draulio researches clinical uses of psychedelics for the Brazilian government.
Jinx- Google Fiber is not offered in Canada LOL. We have Bell Fibe (spelled without the R with typical Canadian diplomacy to avoid any arguments).
Maverick Monday. Thanks for the fun, David and sumdaze
I saw the HORSE TRADE theme, but was bucked (STAGed) out of contention on the mid-west coast. Hand up for not knowing BAHIA, not equating futuristic with TECHY, and not thinking of YAS.
Thus I cannot claim a FIR although I got FIRS (lilacs was too long).
But the rest of the CW has no inkblots.
I waited for perps to decide between China and INDIA.
Same for BIKE lane or PATH (although “park” in the clue was making me lean toward PATH).
I noted WHIFF and TRACE - both tiny amounts.
Wishing you all a great day.
Hola!
Money Monday for me. I went to count then took a NAP when I returned.
Thanks to David Karp for the fun today. I don't recognize his name, though.
Corrected BIKELANE for BIKEPATH but never did get CHAT UP/TECHY. My excuse is that I'm tired.
However, I liked the HORSE theme. But it could have been a food theme, as Misty had plenty of fodder for her composition.
YAS is unknown to me but I do have a GAY niece who is married to a woman.
IDRIS Elba makes another appearance!
I hope all are enjoying a wonderful day today. It's a cool 58 degrees here.
UncleFred@1:31: The ! in math is Factorial. Per Wiki: In mathematics, the factorial of a non-negative integer n, denoted by n !, is the product of all positive integers less than or equal to n. The factorial of n also equals the product of n with the next smaller factorial: n ! = n × ( n − 1 ) × ( n − 2 ) × ( n − 3 ) × ⋯ × 3 × 2 × 1 = n × ( n − 1 ) ! For example, 5 ! = 5 × 4 ! = 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 120.
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