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I Read the News Today, Oh Boy: The GRASS Routine

For last week's headline theme, we gave the hint "if you look carefully we think you'll be OK," while also noting that we could not exactly say whether the theme involved one word or many from the various headlines. We followed that with "Oh, and you need another hint for the headline theme? WTF?"

And now, the answer, courtesy of reader J.N. in Zionsville, IN:

This week's headlines all feature acronyms.

Tim Walz: Laser Focused—LASER (Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation).

Mad Money: FEC Gives the Republicans an Out—FEC (Federal Election Commission)

Trump Campaign: The Wrong States Are on the Radar—RADAR (Radio Detection and Ranging)

Media Matters: Harris Agrees to CNN Town Hall; Trump Rages—CNN (Cable News Network)

It's Not Just Our Imagination (or Yours), Part II: NYT, WaPo, Others Really Are Downplaying Trump Legal Woes—NYT (The New York Times) and WaPo (The Washington Post)

I Read the News Today, Oh Boy: Spam Lamm—SPAM (Spiced Ham)

This Week in Schadenfreude: Not a High-IQ Individual, We Suspect—IQ (Intelligence Quotient)

This Week in Freudenfreude: Not Even in the Same Zip Code—ZIP (Zone Improvement Plan)

However, is OK (per your clue) an acronym? Not according to the AI response on Google. But I remember some tortured version of the history that's initializing "oll korrect." Whatever... the mind reels.

In answer to the question, the "oll korrect" etymology has achieved wide enough acceptance that it's in the Oxford English Dictionary. That's good enough for us, especially since the second most plausible theory is that it's short for "Old Kinderhook." As to the headline of this item, GRASS stands for "Given, Required, Analysis, Solution, and Statement" (if you're a mathematician) or "Growth factors, Retinoid, Antioxidants, Serum and Specialty, and SPF" (if you are concerned with skincare). We trust we do not need to explain what "WTF," from Saturday's hint, stands for.

Here are the first 50 readers to get it right:

G.M.K. In Mishawaka, IN
M.R. in Milford, CT
R.D. in Cheshire, CT
J.C. in Daytona Beach, FL
M.J. in Oakdale, MN
P.R. in Böblingen, Germany
J.H. in Boston, MA
J.N. in Zionsville
D.H. in Leesburg, AL
R.W. in Bensenville, IL
T.T. in Conway, AR
T.M. in New York City, NY
M.T. in Wheat Ridge, CO
M.F. in Goshen, KY
I.H. in Washington, DC
J.F. in Fayetteville, NC
J.D. in Indianapolis, IN
J.M. in Eagle Mills, NY
N.H. in London, England, UK
B.G. in Castle Rock, CO
M.Z. in Sharon, MA
T.P. in Kings Park, NY
G.N. in Philadelphia, PA
D.L. in Uslar, Germany
M.S. in Canton, NY

M.R. in Concord, MA
E.B. in Hannover, Germany
T.M. in Westerville, OH
B.J.L in Ann Arbor, MI
R.H. in West Grove, PA
B.M. in Battle Creek, MI
M.M. in Dunellen, NJ
J.S. in Jacksonville, FL
A.C. in Kingston, MA
J.B. in Kungsbacka, Sweden
M.B. in Albany, NY
J.B. in Montgomery, IL
M.T. in Simpsonville, SC
K.H. in Maryville, TN
P.F. in Las Vegas, NV
J.H. in Portland, OR
J.D.W. in Baltimore, MD
E.B. in Avon, IN
J.L.G. in Boston, MA
K.E. in Peoria, IL
D.M. in Austin, TX
B.G. in Atlantic Highlands, NJ
C.F. in Miami, FL
J.M. in Silver Spring, MD
D.S. in Fort Collins, CO

As to this week's theme, the two Middle East items are not part of it. People are dying there. The theme depends on one word in each of the other headlines, and is in the Trivial Pursuit category "Language." For a hint, we will tell you we had one other item planned for today, and had to hold it because we're running very late and this posting is already very long. The hint is the headline we WOULD have used: "PollWatch 2024, Part IV: Examining the Senate Sausage."

If you have a guess, send it to comments@electoral-vote.com with subject line "October 18 headlines." (Z)

This item appeared on www.electoral-vote.com. Read it Monday through Friday for political and election news, Saturday for answers to reader's questions, and Sunday for letters from readers.

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