by Tanis O’Connor and Greg Pliska
Answer: IMPEACHMENT
Problem: April Fool’s Day

The clues for this crossword puzzle each contain one or more emoji. These emoji must be translated into a string of characters, either as their CLDR short name, or any of the many informal interpretations of their meanings, many of which can be found at Emojipedia. These translations are always interpreted as a string of letters, though many times that string is also simply the meaning of the associated word.

Here are the clues and their translations, as well as the entries associated with them:

NumberClueAnswerTranslation
Across
1Abbrev. on a 🏦 🚪FDICAbbrev. on a bank door
5🤖s, et al.automatonsRobots, et al.
10👏clap[Emoji of clapping hands]
14Os🚗 winner 🏺edLetoOscar winner Jared
15⚾ transactiontradeBaseball transaction
16🍍-producing 🏝OahuPineapple-producing island
17🕐 of the 👨‍🦲win 🍜ersAlecOne of the Baldwin brothers
18🎵d ⌚makerTimexNoted watch maker
19The 🌞 is 🕐starThe sun is one
20Si🕙amed for an airport 🚌WikiWikiWebSite named for an airport bus
22“🥂”cheers“Cheers”
24🎱 gamepoolEight-ball game
25Every🕐, in 🇫🇷tout le mondeEveryone, in France
26💥erang, for 🎤rosoft 🏢, e.g. (hyph.)add-inBoomerang, for Microsoft Office, e.g.
29Make a 🗿sculptMake a statue [moai]
31G🐏my 🏆 ⏺ in 1984Beat ItGrammy Award record in 1984
33🐒 vo🍧d by 🌭 WelkerAbuMonkey voiced by Frank Welker
34♉y’⚔️aid after “or”elseBully’s word, said after “or”
38Common 🎾 🤙letCommon tennis call
39He played 🧬 Jen👪son in 🌊 ♨️ 🇺🇸 🀧: 🥇 Day of 🏕Chris MeloniHe played Gene Jenkinson in Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp
42👂ear[Emoji for ear]
43Ja🌽’s 🍜erEsauJacob’s brother
45🕐 bil🦁 y👂seonOne billion years
46🇦🇴, formerlyNdongoAngola, formerly
48Nero’s 🥈 👰PoppeaNero’s second bride
51🎸 👪 memberslutesGuitar family members
52🐎 🧥 with colored s🍲s (hyph.)dappled-grayHorse coat with colored spots
55_____ et C✋onMoet_____ et Chandon
57Like a 🎰, ℹrmally (hyph.)one-armLike a slot machine, informally
58♀ was 🕐Roman goddessVenus was one
62Basis for 🍿, in 🇪🇸maizBasis for popcorn, in Spain
63Members of the ⬇ c👧peonsMembers of the underclass
65Poet Laureate 🕊RitaPoet Laureate Dove
66👀, in La🥫ecceLook, in Latin
67To ❤ a lotadoreTo love a lot
68P🖼 of QEDeratPart of QED
69Holy 👭 in 🇫🇷 (abbr.)Stes.Holy women, in France
70💂‍♂️ 💪ed with a 🔱, e.g.spearmanSoldier [guardsman] armed with a spear [trident]
71🕸️swebs[Spiderweb emoji]s
Down
1🐛flaw[Emoji for bug]
2🥪 counterdeliSandwich counter
3Thing in your 🛒itemThing in your online shopping cart
4P🖼 of ✈️ where the 👩‍✈️ sitscockpitPart of plane where the pilot sits
5“❤ Me ➡” band R🔚ezvous _____At Two“Love Me Right” band Rendezvous _____
6_____ 🎁, a 🔫 from Des🥫yUriel’s_____ gift, a gun from Destiny
7🦶 for 65 A✝, perhapsiambFoot for 65 Across, perhaps
8👀ing the 💡 at the 🔚 of the tunnel? (abbr.)NDESeeing the light at the end of the tunnel (abbr.)
9“Savage ❤,” e.g.sex column“Savage Love,” e.g.
10“🏰 on a ☁” 👩‍🎤Cosette“Castle on a Cloud” singer
11G❤ materiallatexGlove material
12_____ 🌅’s 🌃 (🎞)A Hard_____ Day’s Night (film)
13👛purse[Emoji of purse]
21Femi🕘 order of 🇬🇷 🏛IonicFeminine order of Greek architecture
23Dr🤢master’s 📲hupDrillmaster’s call
25🛁stubs[Emoji for tub]s
26📖y, w🤢ing, and _____ableReady, willing, and _____
27“🕺 🦆” 👨‍🎤 RickDees“Disco Duck” singer Rick
28⭐ Trek 🤖DataStar Trek android
30🕵 actor 🎤haelCaineSleuth actor Michael
32L🦉ands of 🇦🇷, 🇺🇾, and 🇧🇷The PampasLowlands of Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil
35⛪goer’s 🖊i⛺ periodLentChurchgoer’s penitent period
36Common 🍳 🌿sageCommon cooking herb
37🇬🇷 god of 🏩ErosGreek god of sex
40Like a 🏋️‍♀️’s 💪s, perhapsropyLike a weightlifter’s arms, perhaps
41🏃 while not in ⚙idledRan while not in gear
44👀s 🔼upgazesLooks upward
47Pulled a 🔫 faster thanoutdrewPulled a gun faster than
49🏒 player BobbyOrrHockey player Bobby
50🇪🇬 god of the 🌞 (hyph.)Amon-RaEgyptian god of the sun
52Hemi🌎sdomesHemispheres
53Pass, as a 💵enactPass, as a bill
54Do 🀩 main🕙ance on an ✈️de-iceDo winter maintenance on an airplane
56♨️onsen[Emoji for onsen]
58Some⌛s there’s an 🐘 in 🕐roomSometimes there’s an elephant in one
59🇮🇪, in 🇮🇪EireIreland, in Ireland
60At📌 with a 🗡️stabAttack with a dagger
61👋gh🏫ers’ challengesSATsHighschoolers’ challenges
64🗽 ⌛ z🕐, in 🀧EDTNew York time zone, in summer

The seven highlighted across entries are too long to fit into the grid. Each includes a string that can be replaced with a fruit emoji:

  • AUTOMATONS
  • WIKIWIKIWEB
  • TOUT LE MONDE
  • CHRIS MELONI
  • DAPPLED GRAY
  • ROMAN GODDESS
  • SPEARMAN

Taking the letters in the down entries that clash with each emoji, you get the string of letters IMXMENT. That indicative “X” can be replaced by one more fruit (🍑) to get the answer IMPEACHMENT.

FDIC AU🍅
I
NS CLAP
LETO TRADE OAHU
ALEC TIMEX STAR
WI🥝
M
KI WEBC HEERS
PO OLTO UT🍋
X
DE
ADDIN SCUL PT
BEATI TABU ELSE
LETC HRIS🍈
M
IEAR
ESAU EONN DONGO
PO PPEA LUTES
D🍎
E
DGR AYMO ET
ONEAR MRO🥭
N
DDESS
MAIZ PEONS RITA
ECCE ADORE ERAT
STES S🍐
T
MAN WEBS