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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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!
