Experience of feeling unfamiliar with something that's actually quite familiar to you / SAT 4-1-23 / Pikachu's cry in Pokemon / Wilcox daughter in Howard's End / Cochon de suckling pig / Scientific name for the American Bison / Brew whose red-and-white logo was inspired by billiard balls / Japanese export beginning in 1982 / Noted employer in Clermont Ky / Symbol of forgetfulness in Ishiguro's The Buried Giant / Puppeteer Baird who performed for The Sound of Music

Word of the Day: ARM BANDS (37D: They go from 540 to 1700, informally) —

An armband is a piece of material worn around the arm. They may be worn for pure ornamentation, or to mark the wearer as belonging to group, or as insignia having a certain rank, status, office or role, or being in a particular state or condition. Sprung armbands, known as sleeve garters, have been used by men to keep overlong sleeves from dropping over the hands and thereby interfering with their use. Armbands may also refer to inflatable armbands used to assist flotation for swimmers or for use with sphygmomanometers, in which case they are generally referred to as cuffs. (wikipedia)

I woke up this morning thinking "Hurray, it's April 1, best day of the year! Who doesn't like being fooled? Not me, that's for sure." And then I open this puzzle and ... what a gift. Truly the best puzzle of the year, without question.

See you tomorrow!

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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