Tuesday March 5th 2019, NY Times Crossword

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Time: 8:03
Tuesday Average: 13:02
Best Tuesday: 5:05

I actually can’t believe that I’m still in Saigon. I never spend this long in a single AREA on a work trip, so I have to confess that I’m AT A LOSS, but in a good way. I’m not entirely DEAD from moving from country to country on a daily basis and that approaches the surreal.

Today’s theme is the repeated clue “It has spots,” which indeed can lead to a number of answers. I actually predicted one of them as I was running through the clues as I said to myself, “you know, if you capitalize ‘Spots’ in one of these, it would be a good clue for ‘kennel.’” Instead, the constructor did me one better with DOGGY DAYCARE, to go along with PARKING LOT, LEOPARD PRINT, COMMERICAL BREAK and TEA SERVICE. I really struggled with that last one as I kept seeing “Teaser Vice,” which as far as I know is meaningless.

During my street food tour of Saigon, we had some barbecued OKRA along with goat, beef, and pork. Check out XO Tours if you’re ever in Ho Chi Minh City! Meanwhile, I’m far from the land of DOLMA, but that is sounding awful tasty right now. 

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