04.01.09 -- Fools

Ship of Fools, Hieronymus Bosch
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Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Puzzle by Ed Stein and Paula Gamache, edited by Will Shortz
Twelve factual but deceptive clues ending with question marks and their corresponding entries are the main feature of this April Fools' Day crossword:

Where was the Battle of Bunker Hill fought? -- 18A. BREED’S HILL -- What animal does a bulldogger throw -- 29A. STEER -- In what country are Panama hats made -- 37A. ECUADOR -- What is George Eliot’s given name? -- 41A. MARY ANN -- From what animals do we get catgut? -- 47A. SHEEP --In what country are Chinese gooseberries produced -- 59A. NEW ZEALAND -- What color is the black box in a commercial jet? -- 3D. ORANGE -- What is actor Stewart Granger’s family name? -- 7D. STEWART -- The California gull is the state bird of which state? -- 31D. UTAH -- For what animals are the Canary Islands named? -- 34D. DOGS -- What kind of fruit is an alligator pear? -- 43D. AVOCADO -- How many colleges are in the Big Ten? -- 49D. ELEVEN.

ALL SIZES (40D. Nobody too big or too small, on a sign) and MAHOGANY (10D. Reddish brown) are the other long entries, followed by those of six letters including ANNUALS (20A. Makes invalid); BREADS (1D. Challah and baguettes); CHEAPO (8D. For next to nothing, in slang); EDSELS (50D. Ford failures); EMILIO (46D. Actor Estevez); ERES TU (36D. 1974 Mocedades hit); GAS LOG (42A. It’ll keep the home fires burning); HI DE HI (48D. Cab Calloway phrase); I AM NOT (2D. “You are so!” preceder); LAREDO (231D. Rio Grande port); LEGUME (4D. Pea, for one); PET SIT (51D. Take care of a neighbor’s dog, say); RUDEST (58A. Putting up the greatest affront); TENDER (35A. Money).

Five-letter -- AGATE (25A. Cousin of a cat’s-eye); BOSCH (5A. “Ship of Fools” painter); DOGMA (23A. Seminary teaching); HOOTS (68A. Very funny happenings); IONIC (56A. Column style); LEAST (52A. Smallest); ORTHO (15A. Lawn care brand); SIDE A (65A. Deejay’s interest, typically); TILDE (55A. Part of São Paulo); WASHO (22A. California Indian tribe: Var.).

Short stuff -- ALAS, ALDA and ALMA, ALI, ARIL, ASHE, BIOL, BOBS, CAL, CARE, EARN, EDIT, EGAL and EMAG, ERA, ESL, FREE, HELI, HODS, INST, LABS, MACE and MOC and MSEC, NASH, NET (60D. Site for a site), NFL, ORR, RARE, RDAS, SAP, SEVE, SHA, STIR, TMEN, TOE, USIA, WEB (61D. Site for a site).

Lastly, 30A. Drop TROU (moon)- variously defined as to display one’s buttocks to, in jest -- to drop one’s trousers and/or undershorts; to moon -- well, “trou” in truth is French for “hole!”

What fools these mortals be!

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Remaining clues -- Across: 1. Frog-dissecting class: Abbr.; 10. Riot queller; 14. Pink, maybe; 16. “Such a pity”; 17. Slate, e.g.; 24. Drain; 32. Soprano Gluck; 33. Get copy right; 43. Queens’s ___ Stadium; 44. Seed cover; 45. Golfer Ballesteros; 63. Times to call, in some want ads; 64. Unoccupied; 66. Port opener?; 67. Family dogs, for short; 69. The “I” in M.I.T.: Abbr. Down: 6. Short cuts; 6. Bruins’ retired “4”; 9. Brick carriers; 11. Clay, today; 12. “Silent” prez; 13. Adult ed. Class, often; 19. ___ Na Na; 24. Recipe verb; 26. “M*A*S*H” star; 27. Eliot Ness and others; 28. Bring home; 37. Not différent; 38. ___ package; 39. Former Voice of America org.; 41. Fraction of a tick: Abbr.; 53. Piggy; 57. He wrote “If called by a panther, / Don’t anther”); 58. Nutritional amts.; 59. Cowboys’ org.; 60. Cold war ___.

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