Tuesday December 4th 2018, NY Times Crossword

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Time: 6:57
Tuesday Average: 13:34
Best Tuesday: 6:10

I'm surprised to find a Peter Gordon Tuesday puzzle that's so straightforward. In fact, it makes me wonder if I'm missing something or if the theme really is just Double S, with long answers of SAMPLE SALE, SECRET SERVICE, SIMPLE SIMON, SUDDENLY SUSAN, and SYLVIA SYMS. That does seem to be it and those Ys in the south make for some ugly fill with LTYRS (light years), ERLE, and ASSN all crammed together. It all seems like a bit of a throwaway puzzle for a Peter Gordon joint, but it sure played smoothly, maybe even a bit too smoothly for a Tuesday.

I like "Hot Chocolate or Vanilla Fudge" as a clue for BAND, but that's mostly because of my fondness for the former. You can always find Vanilla Fudge LPs in the $1 bins at record stores and they're worth every penny for sheer wackiness.

I had no idea who Sylvia Syms is, but apparently she's in an old Doctor Who episode. Other than that, she's in The Queen, which I didn't see.

I'm stretching to find more to get excited about in this one, but maybe I should just move on to Crossword Nation. 

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