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Maybe even six-times it - "hex-" feels about right, given the spell of stupidity I'm under. I acknowledge that that labor is a big reason why I even have the space to pursue this wordplay hobby at all - and I thank you deeply for it. I try to be a coequal parent, but no matter how many pump parts I wash or bedtime stories I read, there is no equal to the physical and emotional (and, for a few hours there, literal) labor you put into helping our child thrive in this world. (Speaking of animal sounds, I can't write a whole constructor note without plugging my daily word game - thanks to everyone out there who's been playing!) That also might explain why I only used animal sounds, rather than, say, SPLAT or BANG or - at the risk of pandering to a certain daily crossword writer - POW! I think I made it two-ish months after my kiddo was born (in case that wasn't obvious from 10D, 38D, and 26D), probably while nap-trapped on the couch.Ĭome to think of it, and I'm guessing here because that whole era is a spit-up-filled, sleep-deprived haze, but the theme was probably inspired by the animal noises written on my kiddo's (many, many) diaper shells. I'll be honest, I have no memory of constructing this puzzle.
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