Theme: "Doing Business"
Cutthroat compounds are verbs-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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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
