Historical clue formulations

• Doing mess hall duties, for short — 2024-04-28
• Working in a mess, for short — 2023-06-14
• Peeling potatoes, perhaps — 2023-02-22
• Doing some mess hall duty, in army lingo — 2022-07-20
• Peeling potatoes as punishment, maybe — 2020-02-26
• Cleaning up the mess, for short? — 2019-12-15
• Like a G.I. cleaning up after a meal, maybe — 2017-11-06
• Working in the mess hall — 2015-06-16
• Stuck in a mess? — 2015-05-24
• Peeling potatoes in a mess hall, say — 2014-10-27
• Like some punished 1-Down — 2014-09-25
• Peeling potatoes, perhaps — 2014-07-06
• Cleaning a mess, maybe — 2014-02-04
• Like a private peeling potatoes — 2013-10-17
• Cleaning a mess in a mess, maybe — 2011-11-10
• Cleaning the mess? — 2011-10-08
• Being punished, military-style — 2010-05-30
• Cleaning up a mess, maybe — 2009-10-11
• Peeling potatoes, stereotypically — 2009-04-21
• Preparing hash for G.I. Joe, say — 2009-02-24
• Where Beetle Bailey can often be found — 2007-05-10
• Like some punished G.I.'s — 2006-09-28
• Like a G.I. peeling spuds — 2005-07-12
• Wielding a peeler, maybe — 2005-03-02
• Making a mess in the army? — 2003-11-25
• Like a punished G.I., perhaps — 2001-06-22
• Working in a mess — 2000-08-06