Period of excitement or dreary routine? (3)
I believe the answer is:
rut
'dreary routine?' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
I don't understand the rest of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for rut that I've seen before include "Deep tyre track" , "does get followed during this" , "Oestrus" , "It can be frustrating" , "A deep track - get out of it" .)