Saturday, December 27, 2025, August Miller

 Saturday Themeless by August Miller

This is my fifth Saturday themeless blog this year for August Miller. He is a former physics Ph.D. candidate turned farmer who lives in Berkshire County, MA.

Here is part of a very nice interview with August: Once upon a time I was going to be a physics PhD. I studied physics in undergrad and tried graduate school (twice), but ultimately that environment just didn’t work for me. And now I come home at night smelling of cows and hay, and it feels so much better.

I was able to make good headway through August's puzzle and enjoyed the trip. Unlike Stella's 12/13/25 puzzle, the long fills were familiar and helpful. My last fill was a stab in the dark at "K" at TAI_A/S_A.

Across:

1. Squirrel away: STOW and 1. Squirrel away: STASH - It was fun to have the same clue in the far NW corner.

5. Barely usable pencils: NUBS.

9. "Kapow!": WHAM.

13. Snaps: TAKES A PIC - What we all can do now on a whim. Now when I was a kid...

15. Banchero who was the 2023 NBA Rookie of the Year: PAOLO ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  I will have taken more time on this comment than I will watching any NBA games this season.

16. Manipulator of one of the four elements, in a classic animated series: AIR BENDER ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ This guy is in orange below.

17. Natural styles: AFROS.

18. __ punk: "Tragic Kingdom" genre: SKA and 2. Waititi of "Our Flag Means Death": TAIKA - I knew SKA was some form of music that was foreign to me and I took a flyer on a "K" where it crossed equally unknown TAIKA. Tada!

19. "All My Children" actress Kathleen: NOONE - She was there from 1977 - 1989

 

To the far left

20. "Failing that ... ": IF NOT.

21. Must: HAS TO.

23. Like some waiters: EARLY 😀 - You really want an iPhone 16 so bad you're willing to wait in line.

25. Hesitant sounds: ERS.

27. Mikey Day's show, for short: SNL - If you really care, you'll pick him out, if you don't care, just move on. 😗

28. Guests' guesses: ETAS - You can tell peeps when to arrive but...

31. Some boxing losses: SPLIT DECISIONS - Gane won this match because two judges gave him more points and one did not.

35. "And??": CARE TO ELABORATE.

36. "Who Shot Mr. Burns?," for one: TWO PART EPISODE - Remind you of anything? 😀

37. Glom __: ONTO.

38. Some humanities degs.: MAS.

39. Confession confession: SIN.

40. "The best in pests" company: ORKIN.

42. Attracted to more than one gender, informally: MSPEC - Multisexual Spectrum

46. Peak reward: VISTA - The VISTA from the peak of Everest

48. Stay at a 57-Across, perhaps: GLAMP - Today's portmanteau: GLAMcamPing at Indian Lake, NY which is a 57. Sustainable place to unwind: ECO RESORT.

52. "Hadestown" Tony nominee Noblezada: EVA - I'm guessing August has never heard of the Little EVA song Locomotion.

53. Big name in chips: INTEL - Would you like an Apple with your chips? 

54. Hot bodies?: LAVA LAKES - This one is near the South Pole

56. Close call: SCARE.

58. Good listeners?: EARS - My 79-yr-old models need electronic assistance 

59. __-eyed: DEWY.

60. Code breakers: KEYS.

Down:

3. Mallow family plants with edible seed pods: OKRAS.

                

Okra

 

4. Intricate trap: WEB.

5. Tech startup?: NANO.

6. Top knot, e.g.: UPDO.

7. "Très __!": BIEN and a 14. Miss living in Mexico, say: SENORITA could say Muy BIEN.

8. Safari snap: SCREEN CAP - I just made a SCREEN CAPture of the image below while using the key combination shown on the Safari browser.

9. Array at a hotel breakfast bar: WAFFLE IRONS 😀

10. Lizard with defensive spines: HORNY TOAD - A variation of the name HORNED TOAD

11. __ gobi: ALOO - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ - Aloo gobi, literally "potato cauliflower" in Hindi. 

12. More than some: MOST.

15. Duo: PAIR.

22. Forms of rapid transit: TELEPORTERS - Hallmark makes an ornament of one used on Star Trek.

24. Crime stories?: ALIBIS.

26. Kylie's daughter: STORMI - An addition to the Kardashian clan

27. Tennis great Monica: SELES.

29. Up the __: ANTE.

30. Compass pt.: SSE.

31. Like cut lumber: SAWN.

32. One just starting to shine: PROTOSTAR.

33. Forced a comb through, say: DETANGLED.

34. "Easy-peasy!": SO SIMPLE.

35. Exec who might oversee R&D: CTO - Chief Technology Officer

41. Superfood whose "special power is tasting bad," per Jim Gaffigan: KALE 😀

43. Tea type: PEKOE.

44. Not just some: EVERY.

45. Gives a role: CASTS - This character from Breakfast At Tiffany's may be the worst CASTING decision in movie history. The Boston Globe called the Mr. Yunioshi "an irascible bucktoothed nerd and an offensive ethnic caricature"

46. Bench clamp: VISE.

47. Worshipper of the goddess Pachamama: INCA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

49. Peignoir trim: LACE.

50. Declare: AVOW.

51. Writer Shelley: MARY.

55. "Why do you __?": ASK.