Theme: "Doing Business"
Cutthroat compounds are verb-noun compounds where the verb acts on the noun (i.e. cut-throat). While the themers are not compound words, they are in-the-language nouns turned into 'verb-ing on a noun' for each whimsically-clued career.
Let us play...
23. Job for an elephant caretaker?: BATHING TRUNKS.
 |
| He doesn't have a trunk. He has a glove compartment. |
33. Job for a department store model?: SPORTING GOODS. To sport clothes is to wear the goods.
51. Job for a tailor?: EVENING DRESSES. Read this as EVEN-ing a dress and then "tailor" makes sense.
65. Job for a nanny?: HANDLING CHARGES. A nanny's charges are the little imps she must handle with grace.
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| Mary Poppins, Burt, and her charges, Jane and Michael Banks. |
85. Job for a cheesemonger?: PITCHING WEDGES.
Monty Python's Cheese Shop Sketch taught me all the cheeses.
100. Job for an interior designer?: CHANGING ROOMS. My fav of the themers.
117. Job for a corporate VIP?: RUNNING BOARDS.
Across:
1. Screenwriter's output: SCRIPT.7. Confined: SHUT IN.
13. Emma of "Madame Web": ROBERTS.
20. "Gotcha": OH I SEE.
21. Excalibur, notably: CASINO. Sword was a letter short and perps didn't agree. My first gamble was roulette at Excalibur. I won on my first bet (on 19) and played with the house's money the rest of the night. I've never been that lucky since.
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| Excalibur Casino - Las Vegas, NV |
22. Resolve: IRON OUT.
23. [See: Theme]
25. Hot pepper: CAYENNE.
 |
| Baldo is always a fun read |
26. "Double-quick!": STAT.
27. Eggs __ easy: OVER. How I build my eggs every weekend.
28. Sugar source: CANE.
29. Mountain __: DEW.
30. Dangerous biters: ASPS. Egyptian snakes.
33. [See: Theme]
38. Show contempt for: SNORT AT.
41. Carrot, e.g.: ROOT.
42. Ring bearer, perhaps?: EAR. Who else thought "wedding" 1st?
43. Alter, in a way: HEM.
44. Coastline feature: RIA.
45. "__ Fideles": ADESTE. Better known as the carol "O Come, All Ye Faithful." [Wikipedia]
47. Kibble maker: ALPO.
51. [See: Theme]
54. Onetime Nissan make: DATSUN. In college, DW & I had a used ('84?) Datsun Z for a few years. I can't recall if it was a 240 or a 280Z but many of the parts were stamped "Nissan."
56. Galoot: BIG APE.
57. Cartesian conclusion: I AM. Rene Descartes: "cogito, ergo sum" ("I think therefore I am"). I learned that from Monty Python, too ;-)
The Philosopher's Song - Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl
58. Needle holder: TONE ARM. On your [98a] SPINNER.
59. "C'est la vie": ALAS. "C'est la vie" is classier than "sh** happens."
60. Saint __ fire: ELMOS. St. Elmo's Fire is a weather phenomenon caused by a pointy object in an electrically charged atmosphere [WikiP] and a Brat Pack movie from the mid-'80's.
62. Brook fish: TROUT.
64. Casual attire: TEE.
65. [See: Theme]
70. Cry of realization: AHA.
73. Roos in pouches: JOEYS.
 |
| I'm fairly sure I was much younger when I figured that out. |
74. 1990s cardio workout system: TAE BO.
75. Third-longest river in Europe: URAL.
79. Summers on "Gilligan's Island": MARY ANN. Dawn Wells (Reno, NV) played the character from KS who won the Three Hour Tour via a lottery.
 |
| Dawn Wells as Mary Ann Summers |
81. Las Vegas drama: CSI. Crime Scene Investigation. I don't think I've ever seen an episode.
82. Brand for competitive divers: SPEEDO.
 |
| Image, fortunately, not available. |
85. [See: Theme]
90. Ran off with: TOOK.
91. Bounces back: ECHOES.
92. Bounce house filler: AIR.
93. Ginger __: ALE. A soda flavor.
94. Uni ref. work: OED. Oxford English Dictionary.
97. Microbe: GERM.
98. Record player: SPINNER. While I've heard "spin some records," I've never heard a turntable called a spinner.
100. [See: Theme]
106. Whirlybird: HELO. I'm guessing Gary & Amy are looking for helicopter and not the opening command in RFC 821 - SMTP (Simple Mail Transport Protocol) § 3.5.
107. Feel poorly: AIL.
108. __ Goose vodka: GREY.
109. Cedar Point state: OHIO. The Internet tells me that Cedar Point is a Six Flags property on the shores of Lake Erie in Sandusky, Ohio.
111. Wall alternative: MOAT. Why not both?
Let's see if this meme clip works.
115. More clear, as a photo: SHARPER.
117. [See: Theme]
122. Small: COMPACT.
123. Back, on a boat: ASTERN.
124. Completely committed: IN DEEP.
125. Rubs with oil: ANOINTS.
126. Affixes in a scrapbook: PASTES.
127. Subatomic particles: BOSONS.
 |
| WikiP explains. |
Down:
1. Breaks down in tears: SOBS.2. Online help option: CHAT.
3. Pop singer Ora: RITA.
4. Heavily panned 1987 Beatty/Hoffman comedy: ISHTAR. I heard it was bad so didn't bother.
5. Rock & Roll Hall of Fame architect: PEI. If you look closely, it's a TONE ARM on a stack of SPINNERS.
 |
| More info here |
6. Mark of perfection, at times: TEN. But these go to 11...
Obligatory clip
7. Sketch show that once starred John Candy, for short: SCTV. Second City [Toronto] TeleVision. So much talent -- John Candy, Joe Flaherty, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Catherine O'Hara (who passed last week), Harold Ramis, Dave Thomas, Martin Short, Rick Moranis, et.al. -- came out of SCTV. Lorne Michaels could pick 'em even b/f SNL.
Having been a smoker, the bit about "golden arm" stuck with me.
8. Animals that can run up to 50 mph: HARES. Cheetahs didn't fit and they run 60+ mph.
9. Appropriate, as power: USURP.
10. Pewter metal: TIN.
11. Tats: INK.
12. Discouraging words: NOS. If you think it's a NO, don't ask 'til it's time for forgiveness (learnt that in the Army, I did :-))
13. Puerto __: RICAN.
14. Anaheim's county: ORANGE. Anaheim, CA is in Orange County. I don't know why I know this 'cuz I've never been there.
15. "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" actor John: BOYEGA.
16. Compass reading: ENE.
17. Repetitive musical composition: RONDO. Think Row, Row, Row Your Boat repeated over and over but started on three separate downbeats.
18. Properly pitched: TUNED.
19. Hearty dishes: STEWS.
24. Show up solo: GO STAG.
28. Mentions in a footnote: CITES.
31. Ribbon of fabric: STRIP.
32. "Common Sense" pamphleteer: PAINE. Thomas, the OG pamphleteer rabble rouser.
34. Assayers' stuff: ORES.
35. "The Joy of Painting" host Bob: ROSS. Pop & I would watch on PBS every Saturday.
36. Carry: TOTE.
37. Take the floor: ORATE.
38. Kingdom in what is now Yemen: SHEBA.
39. "On the Beach" author Shute: NEVIL.
40. Alpha's opposite: OMEGA. Greek to me.
45. Friend of d'Artagnan: ARAMIS. I'm thinking a Three Musketeers reference - Google says I'm right :-)
46. Evil fiend: DEMON.
48. Exam with an Argumentative Writing section: LSAT. Youngest passed hers and now has a semester of GWU Law under her belt.
49. 100%: PURE. My shower barsoap, Ivory, is touted as 99.44% pure.
50. "Put your wallet away": ON ME. Their treat.
52. Poet Ogden: NASH.
53. Humdinger: DILLY. Does anyone say this now? I'll tell Eldest; She'll bring it back to fashion.
54. Pederson who coached the Eagles to their first Super Bowl win: DOUG.
55. Penny-__: ANTE. FIL used to say this for anything unimportant.
58. Tuna tartare cut: TORO. Sushi!
60. Locale in a Steinbeck title: EDEN. Just a little East of, if I recall correctly.
61. Certain NCO: SGT.
62. Core argument: THESIS.
63. 1990s Israeli prime minister: RABIN.
66. Open a bit: AJAR. When is a door not a door? When it's a jar. Pop got me a Dad Joke of the Day calendar and now you must all suffer.
67. __ the wiser: NONE. Y'all really don't want the Dad Joke desk calendar.
68. Secret store: CACHE.
69. Sought damages: SUED.
70. Part of a Latin 101 conjugation: AMAT.
71. __ Top Creamery: HALO.
72. "The Good Dinosaur" dinosaur: ARLO. Google tells me Arlo is the protagonist in Disney's 2015 movie. An Alice's Restaurant or Motorcycle Song reference is more in my wheelhouse for ARLO.
76. Lear daughter: REGAN.
77. "Easy on Me" singer: ADELE.
78. Last one to cross the finish line: LOSER. How about the softer euphemism "didn't place"?
80. Klondike Gold Rush site: YUKON.
 |
| What would you do? |
82. Run off with: SWIPE. Took [90a clecho], steal, rob, sometimes clued as 'take badly.'
83. Risk: PERIL.
85. "Mad Men" role for Elisabeth Moss: PEGGY.
86. "Happy Birthday" writer: ICER.
87. "Comin' __ the Rye": THRO. Robert Burns' 1784 poem.
88. Singer Perry: COMO.
89. Fuel guzzler: GAS HOG.
95. Omelet maker: EGG PAN.
96. Work behind the camera: DIRECT.
99. Wanderers: NOMADS.
Dion
100. Brutus co-conspirator: CASCA. He, too?
101. Casual lead-in to "I'm home": HI HON.
102. Memorable Texas mission: ALAMO. The first time I went to the Alamo was post-Basic AIT (Advanced Individual Training) at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio in '88. The River Walk has grown a lot since then, but the core (and the Alamo) remains the same.
 |
| Remember the um, um, um... |
103. "Botheration": NERTS.
104. "Haystacks" painter: MONET.
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| Haystacks |
105. English county: SHIRE. The OED [94a] (subscription required, so this instead) will tell you that Sheriff comes from "Shire's Reeve" where reeve is an official steward.
110. Quaint hotels: INNS.
112. Black-and-white treat: OREO.
113. Arabian port: ADEN.
114. Cough syrup amts.: TSPS.
116. Upstate NY school: RPI. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy (Hi, IM!) New York.
117. 50 Cent piece?: RAP. 50 Cent, aka Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), is a Rapper.
118. Letters on Megan Rapinoe's jersey: USA. Megan in a soccer player.
119. Some Windows systems: NTS. Windows NT / XP / Vista / 10 / 11 all have the same kernel base first developed for IBM's OS/2. I first worked with NT 3.1 & 3.5 on a DEC Alpha in the early '90's.
120. Chest protector: BIB.
121. "Painting To Be Stepped On" artist Yoko: ONO. Is there any other Yoko? Oh, there is (but not in crossword-world).
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| Painting To Be Stepped On [MOMA] |
The Grid:
 |
| The Grid |
WOs: DoTSUN - > DATSUN, rIB -> BIB
ESPs: ROBERTS, BOYEGA, ADESTE, RITA, ARAMIS, NEVIL, REGAN, PEGGY, ICEO, CASCA, ARLO (as clued) & probably other names.
Fav: SCTV brings back many fond memories.
Y'all have a great Sunday.
Cheers, -T
29 comments:
Fun puzzle.
Not too tough, although I will say there were a lot of proper names.
Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
Knew it was Dash-T at the controls from the get-go. I allot 30 minutes for the Sunday cws, and this one submitted in far less than that. HALO beside ARLO was unkind, but the perps came through. Forgot to read the puzzle title, but managed to catch the theme anyway. Imagine. Thanx, Gary, Amy, and Dash-T.
THRO: Methinks it can only be clued with a Burns reference. Only he spelt it that way.
ORANGE: I always heard that when they flipped the country up on edge, all the loose bits wound up in ORANGE county.
BOSONs: Higgs proposed the Higgs BOSON back in the '60s. It took until 2012 to prove him correct (with a little help from the LHC).
NTS: Never worked with it, but I loved my old XP machine, until too much software wouldn't play with it.
RONDO: That word immediately evoked this oldie from Dave Brubeck
Gary, as opposed to some other constructors, puts together a fun and challenging puzzle. And, oh yes, he gets the difference between STAT and ASAP.
Thank you
Took 20:30 today to get "thro" this one.
Seemed like too many names to me too. I knew the Actress of the Day (Roberts), but I didn't know Mary Ann of Gilligan's Island had a last name.
Enjoy the pro football championship game today, even if you only watch for the commercials (or to complain about the halftime show).
FIR, but by creamery was hill (Top) before it was HALO (Top), and my chest protector was a bra before it was a BIB. Guessed at TAEBO x TORO.
Noticed BATHING TRUNKS and SPEEDO.
Plenty for us old folks here, especially TONE ARM and Perry COMO.
I was always more of a Ginger kind of guy, but MARY ANN was nice too. Didn't now either's last name.
I thought the SPINNER was the disc jockey, not the turntable itself. Mike ARLO is the real name of a local SPINNER who simply goes by the name ARLO on the air.
I don't think there are many corporate VIPs RUNNNG BOARDS (plural.) The chairman runs the BOARD (of directors,) the BOARD runs the CEO. CEOs commonly sit on multiple BOARDs, but few chair more than one, at least in big business. (Since BOARDS approve CEO salary, and most BOARDS primarily consist of CEOs of other companies, CEO salaries are usually rubber-stamped by the BOARDS. Kind of a "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours." Seems to me that this concept should be called "the fix is in," but the technical term is "interlocking directories.")
I love the Genesis tune IN (too) DEEP.
"Blah, blah, blah Yoko" is always going to be ONO, the "destroyer of band harmony."
Thanks to Gary and Amy for the fun Super (Bowl) Sunday workout. My favorite was "ring bearer, perhaps" for EAR. And thanks to Bayou Tony for another interesting review. Wish I had one of those dad joke calendars.
Flirting with a trivia laden slogfest today. How many proper names and popular culture items do you need to fill out a grid? Too many, if you edit the LAT puzzle.
FIW. Muddled through the NE and the Oregon region dealing with unknown proper names and technical terms (RONDO), and even managed NERTS (GRaY or GReY? NeRTS NaRTS equally meaningless non-words to me), but ultimately done in by not noticing CHANGE had already been used in an answer, causing me to stick with HANDLINGCHAnGES instead of HANDLINGCHArGES). The unknown TAE BO and the truly cruel cluing for TORO completed the misery.
FIR. Way too many proper names for my liking. However the perps were kind. I didn't much like "nerts" as clued. Oh well!
Fortunately I got the theme early on and that helped greatly with the solve. It was quite clever.
Overall an enjoyable puzzle.
Good Morning:
As Sunday grids go, this was a clever and fun theme and, yes, there were numerous proper names, but it’s a rare Sunday when this isn’t the case. Fortunately, those that were totally unknown, i.e., Boyega, Doug, Arlo, Halo, were solved by perps or guesses. By and large, though, the theme and execution overshadowed any shortcomings in the fill, IMO. I’m with Tony on Changing Rooms being my favorite themer.
Thanks, Gary and Amy, for an enjoyable Sunday solve and thanks, Anon T, for an excellent analysis and commentary. I knew it was you as soon as I read how you “build” your eggs every weekend!
Enjoy the Big Game, stay warm, and don’t eat too many wings!
The job's theme was obvious as soon as BATHING TRUNKS hit the grid.
The SPEEDO came later at 82A.
An easy NW to SE fill today, with a lower than usual number of unknown proper names filled by perps. ROBERTS, NEVIL, ARLO, NERTS, DOUG, PEGGY, HALO Creamery.
The only place I've ever seen HELO for a chopper is in a puzzle.
I've never heard ALLURE used as a verb, only as a noun. But it fit for 'Entice'.
CAYENNE pepper is a staple around NOLA.
BOSONS- knowing any particle other than a proton, neutron, or electron is useless information for any non-PHD physicist. Catch any neutrinos lately? Neither have I.
FIR, but the NE gave me a hard time. Didn't know either the actor or the actress, so it was the last area to fall. Didn't know Maryanns last name, either! Yes, lots of names, but most were not obscure, and the perps were fair. Still not seeing ALLURE for ENTICE. Two different things. One can use their allure to entice someone, but they aren't the same thing. All in all, an enjoyable outing.
12:12. Thoroughly boring.
I always preferred Mary Ann over Ginger, but didn't know her last name. In the first season, they didn't even use her first name in the theme song. She and the Professor were simply "and the rest." Bob Denver, aka Gilligan, lobbied to see them included.
Cedar Point is a must visit for rollercoaster enthusiasts.
Who knew a hare could run so fast (aside from the tortoise)? That's quick as a bunny!
In colonial days, if you were poor, you ate and drank from clay pottery. More upscale townsfolk like in Williamsburg, VA where I grew up, used PEWTER for cups and plates. The wealthy used silver and china.
Rensselaer is my dad's alma mater, and I was accepted there, but went to UVa instead. (Sorry IM, we coulda been neighbors!)
"HI MOM, I'm home," seems better.
I always wondered how Tony knew so much. Finally revealed: he watches Monty Python! Good man.
A lot of people (and a dinosaur) hanging out in today’s puzzle, a half a dozen whom I don’t remember meeting before, ROBERTS, NEVIL, ARAMIS, BOYEGA, PEGGY, and ARLO (not that one anyway). ‘Doozy’ changed to DILLY, ‘thru’ changed to THRO, perps determined SNORT and not ‘sneer’. Also DNK HALO or BOSONS. Last fill for the FIR 28:21 was a correct WAG at the T in the TONE ARM/TORO cross, I don’t think I’d like raw tuna. All in all a nicely themed Sunday grid, thank you Gary and Amy, and to Anon T for the expo!
Looking forward to the Super Bowl later today, hoping the Seahawks prevail. Also anticipating the halftime show to see what all the hype (positive and negative) is about Bad Bunny.
Thank you, Gary, Amy and Dash T
I liked it. Fun stuff. No nits.
I did not know Emma ROBERTS and John BOYEGA so that NE corner was the last to complete.
I just checked with DW. We stayed at Excalibur when we went to Vegas one year. Vegas was not my cuppa. I don't gamble on games of chance. The sensory overload in the CASINOs was just too much for me. DW won though, and she liked going to the shows like Siegfried and Roy.
Last evening I did everything I could to stay up past 8 (ish) so I would sleep late and be able to watch the Super Bowl tonight. Fortunately, there was an exciting game on between Illinois and Michigan State. So far, so good.
I remember "... and the rest, here on..." but did know that Bob Denver lobbied to have the lyrics changed.
We had two senior skip days in HS. The first one was to Cedar Point in Sandusky. The second one was to Brady's Run Park near Beaver Falls, PA.
There was a Nova episode (or a program on the Science channel) about Higgs and the pushback he received from his peers when proposed the Boson. And then how the advancements in technology proved that he was, in fact, correct.
FIR and enjoyed the theme. A few names I wasn’t familiar with but WAGS and perps rescued me. Other names were gimmes for a person my age like COMO, NEVIL, MARY ANN, and of course ARAMIS.
I was not at all familiar with SCTV, NTS, and NERTS.
I too knew pretty quickly that our reviewer today was A-T. Being a cheese aficionado I liked the recitation of cheeses.
I hope all you sport fans enjoy the Super Bowl.
Fun enough puzzle for Sunday entertainment. I only questioned "helo" (spellcheck doesn't like it...) but it's valid. And "toro" being an anti sushi land lubber. (I only eat shellfish.) curiously, "toro" can be broken down into "otoro," and "chutoro." (Both very difficult to type with spellcheck on...)
The meme embed worked, but I had no sound, and the captions were covered by the YouTube red line, so I have no idea what it was supposed to represent...
Lastly, it occurs to me, that I have never read the complete "common sense" by Thomas Paine. I think I will rectify that right now...
Thank you Splynter, (or should I call you Bruce...)
Gary Larson’s puzzles never disappoint. FIR in 20:17, about two minutes faster than my usual Sunday time.
The clues that were designed to be clever were just clever enough, and the unknowns were crossed with enough “knowns” to complete without much trouble.
I was happy to see AHA in placed of the often-used OHO, which I’ve always disliked in crosswords.
ISHTAR has been making the rounds on social (and regular) media lately, as the standard against which box office flops are often measured.
Seahawks by seven.
Another name fest
Got this one done Ok, but the biggest gripe is "nerts", geez. You can put what I know about subatomic particles in a subatomic particle. Perry Como, now that's an old one. I can remember the joke about him laying down on a sofa in his sweater singing. He was laid back for sure. Interesting about the old Datsuns having Nissan parts DashT. I never noticed that. I did enjoy the recap. I'm ready for a little warmup here in Virginia. Have fun all, however you watch the Super Bowl.
I enjoyed solving this puzzle and was able to solve it without having to look anything up, which I consider to be a good thing.
Had to change SUM to IAM.
Some really good fill, such as CAYENNE, TONE ARM, and BOSONS.
Good reading you all.
Delightful Sunday puzzle, many thanks Amy and Gary. And your commentary was also a delight, thanks for that too, Anon-T.
Can't remember when I've last seen such a delightful Sunday recreational puzzle. But as soon as I saw those BATHING TRUNKS right after the CASINO, I got the theme. I'm sure the shopping at the SPORTING GOODS place was already done, and we could already hear the women singing 'Adeste Fideles', while putting on their EVENING DRESSES. There was at least a bit of adult responsibility with HANDLING CHARGES, even if you weren't a nanny. And the rest of the chores, changing rooms and RUNNING BOARDS were work activities, not recreational ones. I wonder if YOKO ONO had fun doing any of these activities today. I hope you got to focus on the recreational ones, Yoko!
Have a lovely healthy and cheerful Sunday, everybody.
Hola! This puzzle was nothing to SNORT AT. I liked the theme phrases especially EVEN-ING DRESSES. I got that! And since I sewed so much in the past, that appealed to me. However, I failed with Emma ROBERTS, SNORT AT, and TONE ARM. For some reason I could not finish those.
Never watched CSI! I would never miss it! It was intriguing to see how each case was solved, pure fiction, of course, but fun and interesting to watch.
I always think of the URAL River as being in Russia not Europe.
When going to visit my sister in CA I drive through ORANGE county to reach San Bernardino County. Have a lovely day, all, and enjoy your game if you watch.
Thank you, Tony, for the lively review!
Musings
-A late start today and then kids called to meet them in Omaha and so we just got back.
-Mary Ann had a last name?
-Some of us with a few miles on our tires were glad to see Perry COMO.
-Nice job, Tony!
Chicagoans of a certain age may remember the excellent comedians at Second City on the Near North Side. Many began their careers at the Compass in Hyde Park near the University of Chicago.
Desper-Otto allows 30 minutes for a Sunday puzzle and finished today's in much less. Wow! I should also set limits, but then how would I ever have finished today's puzzle? I did FIR, but with at least half a dozen unknown names, and other mysteries like NERTS. Although I grew up with record players, I don't recall TONE ARM. I did love the theme, which was helpful in the solve. At least I knew there would be ING in each theme answer! Thanks to Gary and Amy for the workout, and to -T for a marvelous review. Loved the cheeses!
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