
Solving time: 24 mins (no cheating)Theme
Clue of the puzz: 55a tilde [Part of São Paulo]
12 misnomers for April Fool's Day:
18a Breed's Hill [Where was the Battle of Bunker Hill fought?]Solution
29a steer [What animal does a bulldogger throw?]
37a Ecuador [In what country are Panama hats made?]
41a Mary Ann [What is George Eliot's given name?]
47a sheep [From what animals do we get catgut?]
59a New Zealand [In what country are Chinese gooseberries produced?]
3d orange [What color is the black box in a commercial jet?]
7d Stewart [What is actor Stewart Granger's family name?]
31d Utah [The California gull is the state bird of which state?]
34d dogs [For what animals are the Canary Islands named?]
43d avocado [What kind of fruit is an alligator pear?]
49d eleven [How many colleges are in the Big Ten?]

Grid art by Sympathy [about the grid colors]
Crucimetrics
New To Me
Compilers Ed Stein and Paula Gamache / Will Shortz Grid 15x15 with 37 (16.4%) black squares Answers 78 (average length 4.82) Theme squares 78 (41.5%) Scrabble points 287 (average 1.53) Letters used ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ


12d Cal ["Silent" prez]. Coolidge was known as "Silent Cal" because of his taciturnity in private life. Dorothy Parker, seated next to the future prez at a dinner, said to him, "Mr. Coolidge, I've made a bet against a fellow who said it was impossible to get more than two words out of you." His reply: "You lose." This clip shows he was only fooling:
36d Eres Tú [1974 Mocedades hit]. An inspired guess on my part: Eres Tú is "you are" in Spanish and was Spain's entry in the 1973 Eurovision Song Contest.

Noteworthy


52a least [Smallest]. I confidently wrote weest in here, proud of knowing how to spell that surprising superlative.


46d Emilio [Actor Estevez]. I know Emilio Estevez as one of the Brat Pack. More recently he has played Jed Bartlett as a young man. This clip seems particularly appropriate today:
48d Hi-de-Hi! [Cab Calloway phrase]. I know Minnie the Moocher mainly through Wodehouse:

The panther is like a leopard,The Rest
Except it hasn't been peppered.
Should you behold a panther crouch,
Prepare to say Ouch.
Better yet, if called by a panther,
Don't anther.The Panther by Ogden Nash
1a biol. [Frog-dissecting class: Abbr.]; 10a mace [Riot queller]; 14a rare [Pink, maybe]; 15a Ortho [Lawn care brand]; 16a alas ["Such a pity"]; 17a e-mag [Slate, e.g.]; 20a annuls [Makes invalid]; 22a Washo [California Indian tribe: Var.]; 23a dogma [Seminary teaching]; 25a agate [Cousin of a cat's-eye]; 30a trou [Drop ___ (moon)]; 32a Alma [Soprano Gluck]; 33a edit [Get copy right]; 35a tender [Money]; 44a aril [Seed cover]; 45a Seve [Golfer Ballesteros]; 54a moc [Soft shoe, briefly]; 56a ionic [Column style]; 58a rudest [Putting up the greatest affront]; 63a eves [Times to call, in some want ads]; 64a free [Unoccupied]; 65a side A [Deejay's interest, typically]; 66a heli- [Port opener?]; 67a labs [Family dogs, for short]; 68a hoots [Very funny happenings]; 69a inst. [The "I" in M.I.T.: Abbr.].
1d breads [Challah and baguettes]; 2d I am not! ["You are so!" preceder]; 4d legume [Pea, for one]; 5d bobs [Short cuts]; 8d cheapo [For next to nothing, in slang]; 9d hods [Brick carriers]; 10d mahogany [Reddish brown]; 11d Ali [Clay, today]; 13d ESL [Adult ed. class, often]; 19d sha [___ Na Na]; 21d Laredo [Rio Grande port]; 24d stir [Recipe verb]; 26d Alda ["M*A*S*H" star]; 27d T-men [Eliot Ness and others]; 28d earn [Bring home]; 37d egal [Not différent]; 38d care [___ package]; 40d all sizes [Nobody too big or too small, on a sign]; 41d msec [Fraction of a tick: Abbr.]; 50d Edsels [Ford failures]; 51d pet-sit [Take care of a neighbor's dog, say]; 53d toe [Piggy]; 58d RDAs [Nutritional amts.]; 59d NFL [Cowboys' org.]; 60d era [Cold war ___]; 61d web [Site for a site]; 62d net [Site for a site].
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