Barbara

@Anita A beloved Denver news anchor back in the 1960’s used to sign off with “That’s thirty.” So nice to see Deb use it.

@Ben There was a designated domestic chore for each day of the week. Kitchen towels often were embroidered to illustrate each chore. See Etsy for many examples.

@Sarah f I allow myself lookups on Fridays and Saturdays. I never look up using the exact phrasing of a clue and try to limit the specificity of my search. I often learn something new along the way. I also check my spelling. I love word games but am an awful speller!

@Francis The taste of a mangosteen is unforgettable. Cutting the very tough rind reveals sections of the juicy fruit within. Try one if you ever get the chance! <a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/Mangosteens_-_whole_and_opened.jpg" target="_blank">https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/Mangosteens_-_whole_and_opened.jpg</a>

@Francis We had a dog who would eat any unattended sock, which can be fatal if untreated. To avoid panic-driven searches for odd socks, I washed them together in a laundry bag. The dog is gone now, and so is the laundry bag. Our socks have reverted to their old ways.

My first thought was that outfielders use gloves, not mitts. Then I realized that catchers, who do use mitts, sometimes catch pop-up flies near home plate. All good!

@Wayne Harrison Sewing patterns often included tissue faille on a list of fabrics that would be appropriate for the garment. I never knew exactly what it was, but somehow retained the name.

@Andrzej American mycologists almost uniformly say fun-gi with a long i. I usually assume that someone who says fun-guy is not an expert, unless they are making a very old joke.

@Francis The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking) <a href="https://www.astrokatie.com/book" target="_blank">https://www.astrokatie.com/book</a> is a fun read about theories of how the universe might end. Astrophysics moves fast and a book published in 2020 is bound to be a little out of date. Still, it’s a good place to start.

@Deborah Gordon I’m glad the use of male pronouns by default has faded. I like the old fashioned one as good gender neutral pronoun and wish it were used more. What really grates on me is the use of alumni to refer to one person, male or female. Ugh!

@Steve L Nice explainer. My first answer was sac. Oops - The sacrifice isn’t the goal is it? 🙂

@Francis Until recently, the default pronoun for one person or a generic person was male: he/him. The plural form for more than one person was they/them. I think this is how the clue was intended to be interpreted.

@Andrzej I agree that TED Talks and many documentaries are annoyingly superficial. I have found that YouTube is the best place to find in-depth information on things that interest me, but it does take a bit of effort to sift through all the content.

@Steven M. I’m so glad I didn’t think of fault! I would have been stuck on it forever.

@Vaer Agreed, but I’m glad it got me to look up Olivia Dean