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  | PASSIONATE ABOUT NEUTRAL WORDS |  
   
 
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    | It's the New Testament book where "heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together" | 
    Revelation
 
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    | The prominent veining seen here is due to chlorosis caused by a deficiency of this important metallic element | 
    (Isaac: What is... zinc?)
  iron
 
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    | In the 19th century, Eugene Boudin did thousands of scenes of the newly touristy beaches of Normandy, like Trouville on this body of water | 
    the English Channel
 
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    | In a 2019 memoir Carly Simon wrote about her friendship with this first lady, whom she first met on Martha's Vineyard | 
    Jacqueline Kennedy
 
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    | A 2012 headline asked if this kind of voter would "tip the election against Obama", but we haven't made up our minds on that yet | 
    undecided
 
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    | This Oscar-winning actor honored his late brother by naming his first son River in 2020 | 
    Joaquin Phoenix
 
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    | Hesiod wrote that this deity succeeded Cronus & killed all humans for their impiety before re-creating them from ash trees | 
    (Isaac: Who is Gaia?) ... (Ken: That was [*]--total [*] move.)
  Zeus
 
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    | It sounds like a Jerry Garcia fan, but it means to prune faded flowers from stems to promote blooming | 
    deadhead
 
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    | Barely leaving Bologna, Giorgio Morandi did paintings of bottles & jugs, many simply called natura morta, Italian for this | 
    (Isaac: What is... still deaths?)
  still life
 
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    | Her first husband John Todd & their youngest son died during a 1793 yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia | 
    (Isaac: Who is Mary Todd Lincoln?)
  Dolley Madison
 
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    | Separated or isolated, like the garage next to a house | 
    detached
 
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    | Pixar's first non-binary movie character was the aqueous Lake Ripple from this 2023 flick | 
    Elemental
 
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    | In Egyptian myth the snake god Apophis attacks Ra's boat & tries to prevent this daily event | 
    the sunrise
 
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    | When talking about fertilizer, know the N-P-K ratio & that N-P-K refers to these 3 nutrients | 
    (Ken: Yeah, no problem for a chemistry teacher.)
  nitrogen, phosphorus & potassium
 
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    | Looking at "The Syndics" or cloth quality control board of this city, the guy with no big hat is a servant, not a syndic | 
    Amsterdam
 
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    | This future first lady made her society debut in 1902 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City | 
    Eleanor Roosevelt
 
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    | Fair-minded, like this word, is a 10-letter adjective, includes a body part & means not favoring one or another | 
    evenhanded
 
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    | In 2007 this Weezer frontman released "Alone", a collection of 18 home demos | 
    Cuomo
 
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    | In a Hindu text it's this god who says, "Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds" | 
    (Ashley: Who is... Shiva?)
  Vishnu (Krishna)
 
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    | From Latin for "sprouting forth", it's the process by which seeds begin to grow | 
    germination
 
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    | "The Liffey Swim" in the National Gallery of Ireland is by Jack, the painter brother of this poet | 
    Yeats
 
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    | From a prominent & wealthy Ohio family, she was known as the "Belle of Canton" | 
    (Ashley: Who is McKinley?) (Ken: Can you be more specific?) (Ashley: Ooh, no, I'm sorry.)
  Ida McKinley
 
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    | "Black's Law Dictionary" said it's a "term used for... fair and unprejudiced"; a good juror should be that way | 
    impartial
 
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    | This veteran actress wrote, directed & starred in "In a World", a 2013 movie about the cutthroat voiceover world | 
    Lake Bell
 
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    | The "Prose Edda" has some grim previews of this event, Norse myth's Götterdämmerung or twilight of the gods | 
    Ragnarök
 
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    | The Denver Water Dept. gets credit for coining this late-in-the-alphabet word for gardening that uses little water | 
    xeriscaping
 
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    | Tired of the French ones? Head to this city to see the work seen here & others by the top Romanian impressionist Nicolae Grigorescu | 
    Bucharest
 
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    | Reputed to have had quasi presidential powers for a while, she lived into the 1960s | 
    (Isaac: Who is Wilson?) (Ken: Can you be more specific?)
  Edith Wilson
 
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    | As an adjective, it means to be clear on facts, with no personal feelings; as a noun, it refers to the goal of a task | 
    an objective
 
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    | Played by Summer Glau, River Tam saved the day in "Serenity", the movie sequel to this sci-fi series with a Western feel | 
    Firefly
 
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