NYT Crossword 07/04/17 (Tuesday)

Cruciverbalists: Mangesh Ghogre and Brendan Emmett Quigley
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 8:09

Puzzle uniqueness:

July 4 tribute. Takes the answer JULY and breaks it into four first words in phrases that phonetically sounding like each of the letters in July. (Example: JAYGATSBY)

Words I hadn't known until now: 0

Trivia I didn't know:

TOME - "Sao ____ and Principe"

Junk Answers:

NOS - "Thumbs-down responses"
TNT - "Big bang letters"
IDYL - "Pastoral verse"

Clever clues:  0

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words:

VETOER - "President, at times"
SEAEEL - "Anago, at a sushi restaurant"