Wednesday February 27th 2019, NY Times Crossword

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Time: 11:08
Tuesday Average: 13:06
Best Tuesday: 5:05

Maybe it’s been a few long days or it’s the flight from Taipei to Manila, but I struggled to parse quite a few of the answers today. Now, waiting on the tarmac at Manila airport for almost ONEHOURand still with a 2 hour drive to Angeles City ahead of me, I suppose I’ll get around to writing up this JOINT-themed Tuesday. As you can see, the joint shaped shaded answers are joint body parts. That’s the theme. It’s fine.

I was mostly upset with where I ended the puzzle, with the highly questionable ENSHEATHE(which is different from “sheathe” exactly how?) and the River ELBE, which apparently formed part of the border between East and West Germany. Maybe that reference is easier for some, but I was quite young when the Berlin Wall came down and I don’t remember much about any rivers involved. 

OAKLEAVESfor “Cluster around an acorn” is perfectly sensible, but was exceedingly difficult for me to see. “Stone face?” for STUCCOis nothing short of brutal and I only grudgingly entered it in. SISALis a Mexican agave with large leaves or the fiber made from that plant. I’m happy enough to learn that. 

I can’t SEEINTOthe future, so who knows when I’ll make it to my hotel in Angeles City, but you can be sure I’ll post this hopefully not overly post at that time. Cheers!

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