Happy Monday, everyone! sumdaze here. My calendar is telling me today is a XWD favorite holiday -- Holi. Best wishes to all who celebrate!
Veteran constructor Amy Johnson recently collaborated with Katie Hale on this Sunday puzzle. Today she is back with a solo contribution I am calling:
Wishful Thinking
All is explained at the reveal:
56 Across. Words said over a lit birthday cake, and upon the start of 17-, 26-, or 42-Across: MAKE A WISH.
 |
| Isn't she fun to watch?! |
17 Across. Box office attraction: STAR POWER. Jiminy Cricket sang about this in Pinocchio (1940).
(Watch at 1:19 min. there are side-by-side pictures of crooner Cliff Edwards
next to his animated alter ego.)
42 Across. Makeup bag contraption: EYELASH CURLER. If you see an eyelash on your friend's face, you can put it on the tip of your finger and tell your friend to make a wish then blow it away.
 |
| If you didn't know, this is an EYELASH CURLER. No wonder eyelashes want to flee after being caught in one of these contraptions! |
The three themers give us three things upon which we can make a wish: STAR, DANDELION, EYELASH. Amy did a fine job of crafting her idea into a 9-13-13-9 pattern grid. Let's see what else she included:
Across:
1. "The __ of the Furious": film sequel also known as "F8": FATE. Hand up for filling this with FAST then later looking at 1-Down and thinking, "Huh?"
1. "The __ of the Furious": film sequel also known as "F8": FATE. Hand up for filling this with FAST then later looking at 1-Down and thinking, "Huh?"
How did I miss the F+8=FATE ? I obviously went too fast.
5. Orange juice bits: PULP.
9. Former Speaker of the House Pelosi: NANCY. Nancy Patricia Pelosi (b. March 26, 1940) served as the 52nd Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 2007-2011 and 2019-2023.
14. Atmospheric glow: AURA.
15. Teri's "Young Frankenstein" role: INGA. Here is Teri Garr reminiscing about making the 1974 film with director Mel Brooks and co-stars Gene Wilder, Marty Feldman, and Madeline Kahn.
16. Honolulu hello: ALOHA.
19. Like an area with many farms: RURAL.
20. Tee or cami: TOP.
21. Suffix with oct-: -ANE. so much more info.
22. Letters sent by plane: AIRMAIL.
24. Scott Turow work: ONE L.
25. Timely blessing: BOON.
31. __ and pestle: MORTAR. Mine gets a lot of use grinding flax seeds to add to the bread I bake. My tip is to add whatever salt a recipe calls for to the MORTAR at the same time.
32. Dr. Jekyll creator's monogram: RLS. Robert Louis Stevenson was born in Edinburgh on November 13, 1850 and died 9,460 miles away in Samoa on December 3, 1894.
33. Celestial sphere: ORB.
35. Belgium money: EUROS.
36. Heaven knows where, for short: MIA. Missing In Action
37. Subway in Washington, D.C.: METRO.
39. Flight safety org.: TSA.
40. Casual hellos: HIs.
41. Lox fish: SALMON. Lox is a fillet (or strip) of brined SALMON. Brining means to cure food with salt. lox-a more about lox
46. Part of speech: NOUN.
47. Classic TV role for Ron Howard: OPIE. Ron talks in depth about this period of his life in his book The Boys: A Memoir of Hollywood and Family (2021).
48. Millennium Falcon pilot: HAN SOLO. Anyone with an iota of Star Wars background knew this one.
5. Orange juice bits: PULP.
9. Former Speaker of the House Pelosi: NANCY. Nancy Patricia Pelosi (b. March 26, 1940) served as the 52nd Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 2007-2011 and 2019-2023.
14. Atmospheric glow: AURA.
15. Teri's "Young Frankenstein" role: INGA. Here is Teri Garr reminiscing about making the 1974 film with director Mel Brooks and co-stars Gene Wilder, Marty Feldman, and Madeline Kahn.
16. Honolulu hello: ALOHA.
19. Like an area with many farms: RURAL.
20. Tee or cami: TOP.
21. Suffix with oct-: -ANE. so much more info.
22. Letters sent by plane: AIRMAIL.
24. Scott Turow work: ONE L.
31. __ and pestle: MORTAR. Mine gets a lot of use grinding flax seeds to add to the bread I bake. My tip is to add whatever salt a recipe calls for to the MORTAR at the same time.
32. Dr. Jekyll creator's monogram: RLS. Robert Louis Stevenson was born in Edinburgh on November 13, 1850 and died 9,460 miles away in Samoa on December 3, 1894.
33. Celestial sphere: ORB.
35. Belgium money: EUROS.
36. Heaven knows where, for short: MIA. Missing In Action
37. Subway in Washington, D.C.: METRO.
 |
| I rode the Orange line to the Farragut West station for three years. |
39. Flight safety org.: TSA.
40. Casual hellos: HIs.
41. Lox fish: SALMON. Lox is a fillet (or strip) of brined SALMON. Brining means to cure food with salt. lox-a more about lox
46. Part of speech: NOUN.
47. Classic TV role for Ron Howard: OPIE. Ron talks in depth about this period of his life in his book The Boys: A Memoir of Hollywood and Family (2021).
48. Millennium Falcon pilot: HAN SOLO. Anyone with an iota of Star Wars background knew this one.
 |
| Harrison Ford, back in the day BTW, Harrison Ford and Ron Howard acted together in American Graffiti, a 1973 George Lucas film about cruising in Modesto, CA. |
51. Surgery ctrs.: ORS. Operating Rooms
52. Gain a lap: SIT. This was my FAV clue today! Not a lap on the track!
55. Renowned baseball family: ALOUS. Here is the story of how three brothers from the Dominican Republic made MLB history by forming the first all-brother outfield back in 1963.
59. Word after dime or dollar: STORE.
60. Early school yrs.: ELEM. "Years" is abbrevieated, so is "ELEMentary".
61. __ and hearty: HALE.
62. Game piece: TOKEN.
63. County fair attraction: RIDE.
64. Sign of the future: OMEN.
Down:
1. "The __ and the Furious": action film franchise: FAST.
2. Car: AUTO.
 |
| AUTOs in The Fast and Furious (2001) |
3. U-shaped part of a drainpipe: TRAP.
5. Trailblazer: PIONEER.
6. Not feeling up to par: UNWELL.
7. Size up from med.: LGE.
8. Curve in algebra class: PARABOLA.
 |
| This diagram shows why we say a PARABOLA is a conic section (the curve you get when a plane intersects a cone's surface). |
9. Not wide: NARROW.
10. School reunion attendees: ALUMNI.
11. "Julie & Julia" writer/director Ephron: NORA.
12. Spiced tea brewed in milk: CHAI.
13. Southern collective pronoun: Y'ALL. I hope Y'ALL got this one correct today.
18. Bamboo-eating bears: PANDAS.
23. Atomic particles that carry charges: IONS.
24. Hardly fooled by: ONTO. ONTO is a preposition that can mean on top of or fully aware of.
26. Drench: DOUSE. This is that disgusting MAYO video we were talking about last week. WVU coach gets DOUSEd in MAYO after bowl win
27. Wide variety: ARRAY.
28. From Donegal: IRISH. CSO to our lovely IM☘
29. "Get anyone else": NOT ME.
30. Infielder's blunder: ERROR.
31. "Have we __?": MET.
34. "__ voyage!": BON.
36. Inappropriate handle: MISNOMER. The slang definition of "handle" is a person's name or nickname. We all use one on The Corner.
37. Oscar winner Tomei: MARISA. She won for My Cousin Vinny in 1993.
 |
| Love this styling!! |
40. Heist booty: HAUL.
41. Highest in rank: SUPREME.
Stop! In the Name of Love
The Supremes (1965)
43. Big name in nutritional shakes: ENSURE. 
44. Undo a bit, as a tie: LOOSEN.
45. Not raw: COOKED.
48. Biblical verb: HAST. archaic second person singular present of "have"
49. Voice range for some boys: ALTO.
50. Cozy reading spot: NOOK. 31 Dreamy Reading Nook Ideas to Curl up with a Book in 2024
52. Thailand, once: SIAM. CSO to Lily, Husker Gary's SIAMese cat.
53. Cruise ship stop: ISLE.
54. Back in the day: THEN.
57. "Sting like a bee" boxer: ALI.
58. "Doctor __": BBC series starring Ncuti Gatwa: WHO. Ncuti was born on October 15, 1992 in Rwanda. He is the 15th incarnation of the Doctor. Here he is with the latest sonic screwdriver.
44. Undo a bit, as a tie: LOOSEN.
45. Not raw: COOKED.
48. Biblical verb: HAST. archaic second person singular present of "have"
49. Voice range for some boys: ALTO.
50. Cozy reading spot: NOOK. 31 Dreamy Reading Nook Ideas to Curl up with a Book in 2024
52. Thailand, once: SIAM. CSO to Lily, Husker Gary's SIAMese cat.
53. Cruise ship stop: ISLE.
54. Back in the day: THEN.
57. "Sting like a bee" boxer: ALI.
58. "Doctor __": BBC series starring Ncuti Gatwa: WHO. Ncuti was born on October 15, 1992 in Rwanda. He is the 15th incarnation of the Doctor. Here he is with the latest sonic screwdriver.
Here's today's completed grid:
Thanks in advance for your comments! I'll be off-line this week but I'll see you next Monday. I wish you a good day!
36 comments:
As usual, this puzzle was another Monday “walk in the park.” When a puzzle is this easy, I often amuse myself by trying to see how many correct answers I can get without looking at the clues. In this case, quite a few. Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
Yup, sumdaze pointed out several answers that d-o never noticed, because they were already filled in. Saw the reveal, but didn't understand. Never heard of wishing on dandelions or eyelashes. (Saw a woman yesterday on LSU's women's basketball team with eyelashes long/strong enough that you could hang clothes on 'em.) Only needed my trusty Wite-Out to correct HAth to HAST. This was a six-minute dash to the bottom -- as fast as d-o could write. Thanx, Amy and sumdaze. (Enjoy whatever it is that you're up to this week.)
Took 4:10 today for me to (s)wish through this one.
(That's my homage to March Madness.)
Didn't see the theme, but I get it now.
Not sure I ever heard of "dandelion wine" before.
It must be a Monday if I knew today's actress (Marisa).
FIR with no erasure.
Today is:
NATIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR DAY (the United States’ highest military award for valor. Not the “congressional” Medal of Honor, TV news readers.)
TOLKIEN READING DAY (I may be the only Cornerite to have never read LOTR)
NATIONAL LOBSTER NEWBURG DAY (featuring The Cockroach of the Sea)
Caracas has a Metro system too. The setup looks just like the one in DC, but the paper tickets you buy with your Bolivars don't work in DC. Another great idea down in flames.
It's a P-trap, not a U-trap.
Never heard of wishing on an eyelash, but as a kid we were told to blow off the dandelion's seeds and make a wish. (BTW, The Hollies recorded the song Dandelion Wine, singing "Stoned all the time on dandelion wine
What else can I do
I've been this way everyday
Now that we're through"
Thanks to Amy for the fun romp today. I suspect that you found an old-fart-to-current language translator to come up with DANDELION WINE, dime STORE, AIR MAIL and ENSURE. I remember when AIR MAIL was a thing, some wags would install two mail boxes - one at regular height, the other, labeled AIR MAIL, mounted atop a 20-foot pole.
FIR. And yes, I threw down fast at 1A and stared at 1D and said "What the hey?" Trap set me right, but from there on it was an easy run to the end.
This was a fun puzzle, clever theme, and very enjoyable.
Jinx, I read the LOTR trilogy twice. Once in the '60s and again in the '80s. We got a Siamese cat in '70 and named her Frodo.
If I were to make a wish, it would be Marisa Tomei
Marvellous Monday. Thanks for the fun, Amy and sumdaze.
I FIRed. in very good time, and saw the WISH theme. Hand up for not being familiar with wishing on an eyelash!
I thought the FATE/FAST cross to start was a little unfair until sumdaze pointed out F8. D’uh!
Any unfamiliar names like INGA perped. Even this Canadian knew NANCY.
I initially fought the plural ALOUS.
I noted ALOHA and HIS, French METRO crossing ELLE. (Montreal has a METRO, Toronto calls it a subway).
I’ll take a CSO with MORTAR, which I used occasionally in my profession. Not much call for them anymore except for some small compounding.
Another IRISH CSO for Irish Miss. Also, timely with the funeral of former Canadian Prime Minister, Brian Mulroney, on Saturday. He was proud of his Irish family roots. Americans may remember him singing “When Irish Eyes are Smiling” with President Ronald Reagan. His granddaughter helped sing it at the funeral. (You might also want to watch the video below on the link with a tape of “We’ll Meet Again” Mulroney made and requested to be played at his funeral.)
When IrishEyesAreSmiling
Wishing you all a great day.
Good Morning! Nice launch to the week! Thanks, Amy. I loved the theme and have made a wish on all three!
I knew all the names, so that was nice.
I always start off reading the 1A & 1D clues, then mixed up my directions for placement of FAST.
WO: FAA -> TSA
I haven’t seen or used PARABOLA since high school…. But a good crossword word. 😄😄😄
Thanks, sumdaze, for another enjoyable summation.
Musings
-Orange juice PULP seems to be a hate or love ingredient
-My granddaughter is a daily rider on the D.C. Metro
-Today I learned: You search for water with a dowsing stick not a dousing stick
-That fireplace makes that Lily’s fav spot during a cold spell! Thanks for the posting in your lovely write-up, Renee!
-Subbing today and this man has only 9 kids in the first half of the day and 20 the rest of the day!
Never heard of making a wish on an eyelash before...
My only piece of advice:
Be careful what you wish for,
You just might get it...
FIR easily. A few unknowns like ONE L and I didn’t think of MIA as clued, but they filled with perps.
However I was a little puzzled by the theme because I’ve never heard of wishing on an eyelash.
I like a lot of PULP in my orange juice.
Sub-genius @4:00 I too try to guess answers without looking at their clues.
Thank you Sumdaze for a nice recap and explanation.
Today's puzzle should be a BOON to all who have struggled the last few days. A nice ARRAY of WISHes fulfilled! Thank you, Amy, Patti, and Sumdaze! ALOHA, Y'ALL!
Hola!
FAST solve on a Monday ! And not a single ERROR. Thank you, Amy and sumdaze.
It's also a reminder of how much I love the movie, Young Frankenstein. Recently there was a reference to Madeline KAHN from that movie.
The ALOUS have not made an appearance in a long time but they used to be regulars in crosswords.
MARISA's STAR POWER really shone in My Cousin Vinny. I love that movie.
WINE is one of my favorite beverages but I've never had DANDELION WINE and I'm not sure I'd like it.
Yesterday I did not get to the Corner and, in fact, didn't finish the puzzle. It was a busy day. Five of my nieces, my brother, Art and my sister, Marge, as well as his wife, and her sister were here for lunch and to examine my family photographs. I made some copies that they wanted and we reminisced about those who are gone.
I hope you all had a great weekend and it continues today!
Fast, fun, FIR to open the week. Had to spend time with Sumdaze for many of the clues, as they filled before I arrived at them. Dandelion fluff and eyelashes...somehow, I never knew these. A learning experience. When I reported in to the 101st in Viet Nam, there was a wall in headquarters with the divisions Medal of Honor winners. Decided I really did not want to earn one of these, as the vast majority were given posthumously. All honor to them!
WEES, fast run to FIR, and forgot about making a wish on a dandelion until Sumdaze reminded me that it is a thing. I hadn't heard it since I was a child. But NEVER heard of making a wish on an eyelash. Anyway, thanx AJ for this fun romp to start off the week, completed with no W/Os. Thanx too to Sumdaze for the nice write-up.
Thank you Amy for a friendly Monday stroll. Here's WISHING you the best!
Thank you sumdaze. Nice review!
A few favs:
1A/1D Filled FAST for 1A and couldn't make it work, but perps finally helped me over the finish line.
21A ANE. I'm in AWE! I think the NLM needs to find better things to do with its time!
31A MORTAR. I have several. Sometimes I use the one in the kitchen to grind pepper corns or garlic. And I use a big one in my studio to grind minerals for use in "natural" glazes.
4OA HIs. Pluralization of two-letter fill ABETS it use in crosswords.
52A. SIT. Mine fav too!
36D MISNOMER. My handle is just my initials. [MEH]
37D MARISA. Also a frequent visitor to the Corner.
45A COOKED. Not all sushi is RAW. Fr'instance Shrimp tempura rolls and Softshell crab rolls have COOKED ingredients.
58D WHO. I've seen all of the old Dr. WHO episodes (some 3 times!) up thru Peter Capaldi (spoiler alert: he appears in this Thursday's review -- but there's no way you'll guess where 😀). I did saw Ncuti Gatwa in the 2023 Christmas Special where he "Bigenerated" with David Tenant. I'm not sure I'll see him anymore as I'm miffed with the franchise for selling out to the "Mouse" -- while I can see all the old episodes on Prime, one needs a subscription to Disney+ for the new ones. This change has also miffed the British fans, because the live broadcasts are being shown in primetime in the US, meaning that the Brits have to stay up until midnight to see them. As the series is also popular with the kiddies, it also means they have to stay up past their bedtimes.
Cheers,
Bill
Jinx @6:52 AM If you haven't read LOTR, you can still get find out why these stories are so fascinating by watching the Hobbit followed by the movie trilogy. Here's the trailer for the first film. Oh and BTW, it's also MARYLAND DAY!
Anon at 9:11, me too. I'll bet you're also fan of her work in Before the Devil Knows You're Dead.
Sorry sumdaze, I got so caught up in bloviating about AIRMAIL that I forgot to thank you for another super-dooper narrative. Thanks.
Bill, my "what day is it" source lists Maryland Day as August 24. But I should note that I edit out the state "days." Nothing odd, quirky or important about the states, IMO, even though every one of them has its own merits and fascinating histories.
Hi Y'ALL!
WEES, a nice quick Monday puzzle offered by Amy.
Thanks AMY. And thank you sumdaze for a sparkly review.
WO: Lrg -> LGE.
ESPs: N/A
Fav: INGA
D-O: LOTR - Read the first book and the first 1/2 half of the second book 2x. In Two Towers, I got so lost with all the names, I gave up. The prequel, Hobbit, was fun (and who doesn't like twosies?)
The Foundation Trilogy was easier to follow.
Waseeley - the female side-kick (Ruby Sunday [a CSO to The Beatles?] in trailer for Dr WHO on Disney+ is a dead-ringer for my niece.
Lovely to see you still posting, wendybird.
DW taught me the WISH upon the EYE LASH thing when we were dating; the others I already knew.
Cheers, -T
Jinx @12:21 PM Of course Maryland has a fascinating story -- I live here 😀! August 24th? It's been celebrated on March 25th ever since I was a kid. Did I miss the legislation?
-T @12:59 PM Isn't that a CSO to Stones -- Ruby Tuesday?
Surprise to me that wishing on an eyelash was unknown to many. How did I get in the loop as a kid??? Just to add to sumdaze's comment. The ladies using an EYELASH CURLER often would find an errant one on their own cheek. Wishes still count!! 😉😄
I noticed immediately that 1A and 1D couldn't/shouldn’t both be FAST, but I wasn’t familiar with any of the particular movies in that set. I also wasn’t familiar with wishes involving dandelions and eyelashes. Still, it was an enjoyable and leisurely Monday FIR, so thank you, Amy, and thanks to sumdaze for the write-up.
Some quibbles in the cluing, the main one being that PANDAS are not bears. . . . I would say that nearly ALL boys are ALTOS, as I was, but most boy altos are the boys who can’t sing a lick and aren’t interested anyway. . . Although it’s true that Y’ALL is primarily a collective possessive pronoun, there are many who consider Y’ALL to be singular and “all y’all” to be plural. And, speaking of singular possessive pronouns, if I were the editor, I wouldn’t have bothered to use the plural of “hi” for HIS.
I haven’ t double-checked, but did we ever ascertain that the recent absence of Irish Miss can be blamed on the huge snowstorm that hit her region during the weekend?
Copy Editor, were you thinking of the koala? They aren't true bears, but the panda is a bear species found only in China.
waseeley - D'Oh! Too many Brits invading. Mixed me up, they did :-)
Thanks for the correction. -T
I enjoy Mondays CW’s because a FIR can be achieved by most, leading to less harangue in the comments by the disgruntled, although the whining can be quite entertaining too 😂. Thanks Amy for easing us into the week with this puzzle! I also like Mondays cuz I know we will be presented with a cheerful and illustrative synopsis from sumdaze, and today was no exception to that.
I agree with Lucina that “Young Fronkensteen” is a great comedy, showcasing the comedic genius of Mel Brooks and the cast.
Speaking of MIA, I too was wondering about the absence of IRISH Miss☘️, she hasn’t posted since Thursday and she didn’t mention a hiatus.
Dash-T -- I also read the Foundation trilogy twice, back in the day.
D-O, Zoo Atlanta still has pandas, but they may have to go back to China later this year when the loan agreement ends. Here's a link to their Panda Cam.
-T @2:21 PM Aw shucks, it's nothin' When you get to be my age, you're expected to know that kind of stuff :-).
Zip, zip, done today. I never heard of wishing on an eyelash. I very seldom have seen detached one.
This time loosen is undo a bit, instead of untie. A man loosens his ties by pulling down on the knot. He unties it by undoing the entire knot.
I am not interested in LOTR or the Hobbit. My students loved reading this.
A guess the u shaped piece is just a part of a P trap which has two pieces.
There are many kinds of sushi without raw fish. Avocado roll, California roll, tomago sushi (cooked egg) and many more. My favorite is unagi sushi with grilled eel. This eel is poisonous if it is eaten raw. Unagi has become very expensive, so I haven't had any in along time.
Another hand up for: 1 Across / 1 Down Fate/Fast
Another hand up for: The Foundation Trilogy
Another hand up for: The LOTR Triliogy - I read The Fellowship Of The Ring in a single day while home from school with a fever. I have described this as being my first hallucinogenic experience.
I liked this puzzle. I didn't study parabolas and conic sections until "analytic geometry," which wasn't taught (to me) until after algebra.
Monday is my duplicate bridge game day, so I am just now catching up with you all. I found Amy's puzzle today to be enjoyable and pretty straightforward, and Monday-appropriate. It proved to be a pleasant FIR for me, to boot.
I loved how 1A and 1D meshed.
When I saw 18D, "bamboo-eating bears," I thought, uh-oh, Amy"s going for KOALAS, which are not bears. And we are all going to gang up on Amy. But no, she was going for PANDAS, which definitely are bears.
52A was probably my favorite clue, "gain a lap." I could just picture my cats curled up and purring.
One or two of the wishes were over my head, but so what....I learned something new.
Thank you, Amy, for an enjoyable and clever puzzle!
Indeed. Where is Irish Miss ☘️?
Hi Y'ALL! If I were to MAKE A WISH today, it would be that the puzzles every day this week would be as fun and doable as Amy's. Thanks for explaining stuff, Sumdaze. I didn't catch ONTO several things such as MIA & FATE.
Never heard of wishing on DANDELION fluff or EYELASHES as a kid. Didn't know there were such things as EYELASH curlers until my friend had one at my daughter's wedding when I was past 40. If I were to wish upon an eyelash, it would be that they wouldn't fall out and need wishing on.
Someone was hard up for an alcoholic beverage if they had to resort to DANDELIONs for wine. How much sugar could there be in them?
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