Sun Feb 3 NYT Crossword Hints – A Whiff of Cologne

Another unusual theme…Unusual in that it’s not really wordplay, as much as answers that are common expressions literally equivalent to the clues that share something other than wordplay in common.  Think about alternative possibilities for Cologne.  Not the stuff you put on to smell nice.  Where would you put it?  Maybe not on your body.   As soon as you begin to get one of these, you’ll get the idea.  Not terribly exciting, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.  One more theme hint, you can keep these expressions, even though they are borrowed.

10 specific hints:

1-Down: Alternatives to comb-overs.  I bet Marv Alpert wishes he’d just gone for the comb-over.

93-Across: Homey.  Yo!  When spelled differently, this can be a dirty one!

96-Across: Potter’s pedal.  Change the fifth letter and it all turns to a gookey sugary substance.

36-Across: Who said “Familiarity breeds contempt — and children.”  I thought this was a person that’s never met?  Ok, I admit that’s too obscure.  His real name was the same as a famous strike-out king.

75-Across: Fraternity member.  Not a specific fraternity, like a Sigma or Delt, but any fraternity member

9-Down: Place for a Dumpster.  Don’t know why there’s a capital letter on Dumpster.  Is it a brand name?  I didn’t think so.  So the capital is irrelevant in this case.  Personally, I like to keep my dumpster in the living room, then I don’t have to take the trash out at all, but most people who have dumpsters around all the time (as opposed to just during some huge renovation) prefer to keep them where the answer says they are.

55-Across Worked the soil.  TILLED, no.  SEEDED, no.  Can a garden be worked with a deck of cards?  Apparently.

79-Across Like many a fraternity party.   I’ve never heard this word in my life, but the first four letters will be in very hear use this Super Bowl Sunday.

68-Across 1952  Brando title role.  This clue/answer combo has been used before this week.  Think Mexican revolution.   Who was fighting whom, by the way?

69-Down All’s partner.  I tried ALL first.  Thought that would be funny and possible even if it did violate xword construction rules.  Think the opposite of ALL.  No, not NONE, a little more than that!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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