ging

@Jess Cue = Q; Ess = S, which is the second letter after Q in the alphabet. It threw me too.

@Lige Welcome back! I hope you enjoy doing the puzzles. :)

@Ruby I knew both Coe and Mahershala Ali - and Antz… It’s not unheard of to just know things without regard to generation or region or any of the other reasons people use when they don’t know something.

@Murhatroid I think it’s because there are two C’s in the word accessories - therefore, a pair. It took me a while.

@Lars I’m not sure why what Americans do is wrong - it’s what Americans do. In any case, the question mark is part of the title and should be inside the quotes.

@Chris Tharp TCBY was all over the country including on the west coast… however, it was most popular in the 80s and 90s and has far fewer locations at this point so you probably a) don’t remember or b) are too young to remember it.

@CLN Striking out is called “fanning” because the bat swings are like a fan motion. I hope that makes sense. I think I’m not explaining it clearly.

@Hearn A local paper doesn’t have to be from a small town… that’s why it’s a good (Saturday) clue!

@Lauren Not sure why you’d pick on Joel. You haven’t been happy with many of the puzzles under Will…

@John I do Strands but I miss Vertex a lot, or should I say, scores! As someone else had written, it used a different part of the brain, which felt good and was a nice beak from the word puzzles. Maybe they’ll replace it with something in a similar vein?

@Ιασων Sked(s) is American slang, spelled according to American pronunciation.

@Reuben Elia Kazan was the director of several very well-known classic movies in the 40s and 50s so, while you may not be familiar with the name, it’s more likely because you’re not an old movie fan, not because you’re not from North America.

@David It stands for Paid Time Off but I’m not exactly sure how bankable works with it (we can’t ‘bank’ days at my company but I guess it means you can save them to use at a later point?).

@SP Baby proofing means making a place safer for a baby, for instance, putting bumpers on sharp coffee table corners etc.

@Vaer LOLOLOLOL!

@Pani Korunova And babies… I’ve heard they take up a lot of time. ;-)

@Janine Thank you! I thought it was a rebus and wasn’t getting the gold star…

@Jess Same here! 😆 I actually didn’t even notice the message - just realized it while reading through these comments!

@Helen Wright They’re not beaches - they’re cities. A little surprised you’ve never heard of San Diego but, ok.

@Brendan You should look at the column!

@Kincaid No mention of where Aidan is from so maybe just words you’re not familiar with. Although, since he’s going to Harvey Mudd, perhaps he’ll be able to incorporate more West Coast vocabulary in the future.

@Sandra that was my last fill… I think it means “demographic” for Gen Alpha, which I think is the youngest “demo”, so the parents are Gen Y… phew!