L.A.Times Crossword Corner: August Miller

Showing posts with label August Miller. Show all posts

Oct 10, 2026

Saturday, October 10, 2026, August Miller

Saturday Themeless by August Miller

Our physics student turned farmer from Massachusetts returns. As usual, I'll point out some of his trickery but the key to the whole puzzle was his long fills, particularly the stack of three grid spanners

As you can see below, August had a lot of unique fills which earned him a "freshness factor" of 96%,

Across:

1. "__ Supreme": MARTY ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ The movie Marty I knew started Ernest Borgnine.

6. Hebrew name that means "who is like God": MICAH ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

11. Folks who are often recognized: CELEBS.

12. One who is recognized: HONOREE.

14. Like many John Cage compositions: ATONAL - If you'd really like to hear 2:22 of one of his compositions

15. Piece of crude machinery: OIL DRILL. 😀

16. Less ridiculous: SANER.

17. Drambuie cocktail: RUSTY NAIL - Two ingredients - Scotch Whiskey and Drambuie Liqueur. I don't think I could drink and blog!

18. Whole lot: SLEW.

19. Caresses: PETS.

20. Plum kin: SLOE.

21. Pretend: ACT.

22. Spanish dairy animal: VACA - From VACA to VACCINE

23. Journalist Cabrera: ANA.

25. Smart, in a way: VOICE CONTROLLED - It helps when my fat fingers can't get the job done.

31. Ankylosaurus, for one: ARMORED DINOSAUR.

32. "That's not so outrageous": SEEMS REASONABLE.

33. "Au revoir, __ amis": MES - Even I can see it that this is French for "Goodbye my friends"

34. Farm unit that may be round or square: BALE - The old square (really rectangular) were very labor intensive and involved made for a hot, unpleasant job. The new modern round balers are a one man operation.

35. Sigur __: ethereal Icelandic band: ROS - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

36. Zoë of "The Afterparty": CHAO ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

39. Need for some pan sauces: FOND - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ The word FOND is a French term that refers to the browned bits of food in a pan after food has been sautéed or roasted.

40. Grand piano trio: LEGS 😀

41. Starts to look really cold: TURNS BLUE.

44. Hasbro toy that tests reaction speed: BOP IT.

45. Looping: ON REPEAT.

46. Traditional Chinese dumplings: JIAOZI - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

47. Giving nightmares, maybe: SCARING.

48. Spotless?: AD FREE 😀

49. "Be more here" hotel chain: HYATT.

50. Licks: BESTS.

Down:

1. Hybrid genre: METAL CORE - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ A combination of heavy metal and hard core punk.

2. Chance to recharge one's social battery: ALONE TIME - I love mine!

3. Commit to another year, say: RENEW.

4. Lift option: T-BAR.

5. Couture initials: YSL.

6. Drop down?: MOLT 😀 - Down is a noun: When a bird MOLTS, it drops down!

7. Fedora-sporting hero, familiarly: INDY - Ah yes, back when a movie actually made me want to go to the theater. The streaming services I already pay for want $3.99 more to see this many other entertaining movies.

8. Mix with kernels: CORN SALSA.

9. No-frills type: ARIAL - Our regular font. Arial font.

10. Trope starter: HELIO ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Turns out it is not a tired plot device but is a flower. We astronomy buffs know of another HELIO word

11. Plants used to make tapioca: CASSAVAS.

12. Sibilant warning: HISS - That snake doesn't have to warn me twice!

13. Vogue rival: ELLE.

15. Not home: OUT AND ABOUT.

17. Deal with bugs, say: RECODE 😀

19. Some harness horses: PACERS.

22. Frost bit?: VERSE.

23. "Frog and Toad" series writer Lobel: ARNOLD.

24. "... said __ ever": NO ONE.

26. Modern dating phrase: COMMON ERA.

27. Herbal infusion: TISANE - Colonel Hastings did not care for Poirot's TISANE

28. Solution pages?: LAB REPORT 😀

29. Shares passing thoughts?: EULOGIZES.

30. Ascot alternative: DRESS TIE.

36. Some A.I. execs: CTOS - Chief Technical Officer

37. Suspicion: HUNCH.

38. Assortment: ARRAY.

39. Icon in a World Cup score: FLAG.

40. Doesn't work: LOAFS.

42. One taking turns cooking?: SPIT 😀

43. Kinked: BENT - The "water fountain" of my misspent yute.

44. __ one's time: BIDE.

46. Vaccination, to a Brit: JAB - Prime Minister Boris Johnson gets a JAB

Aug 22, 2026

Saturday, August 22, 2026, August Miller

Saturday Themeless by August Miller

August is a constructor we have seen very often here in the last 12 months and having a puzzle by August in August just seems right. I blogged his first LA Times themeless just last year and now this is the 8th one I've solved/blogged. 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.

As you can see by the grid below, August's puzzle is full of unique fill.

Across:

1. Camera setting with a moon icon: NIGHT MODE - Earlier this year, I used the NIGHT MODE on my iPhone which enabled me to photograph northern lights from our deck. They were not visible with the naked eye.

10. Makes a run for it: BOLTS.

15. Like rocks and minerals: INORGANIC.

16. "Farewell, mon amie": ADIEU.

17. Literary figure who rings a bell: QUASIMODO.

18. Remote spots?: SOFAS 😀 My remote always winds up down in the cushions.

19. Finesse: ART.

20. Beach Soccer World Cup org.: FIFA.

21. Overly caffeinated: WIRED.

22. Nancy Drew chum: BESS - Bess Marvin is one of Nancy Drew's closest friends and a core member of her sleuthing circle.

24. Lab infestation: FLEAS - A canine issue

26. "Foxy Brown" do: FRO.

28. Middle set: ABS 😀 Muscles of your midsection

31. Cousin with floor-length hair: ITT.

32. Heads out: GOES.

33. "Ugh, I'm so sorry!": THAT'S THE WORST.

36. Some transformations: CHARACTER ARCS.

37. "I know, right?!": YOU'RE TELLIN' ME - An elided version of a familiar phrase

38. Mackey of "Ella McCay": EMMA.

Jamie Lee Curtis Emma Mackey

39. "Ceci n'est pas __ pipe": UNE - Crosswords have taught me of Rene Magritte's This Is Not A Pipe but is just a picture of a pipe.

40. Confidentiality doc: NDA.

41. One bro to another?: SIB 😀

42. Takes to heart: HEEDS.

44. Some "Call the Midwife" figures: NUNS ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

48. Exclaims: CRIES.

50. Crushed: ACED - I had finished my physics minor but had to take a class called Electricity For Industrial Arts Teachers to get my hours for my diploma. I ACED those tests.

53. Pause to catch up?: NAP.

54. Essential fatty __: ACIDS - Some of the sources

55. Avoid having to hoof it: SNAG A RIDE.

57. Things to avoid: NONOS.

58. Like some high-flying performers: ACROBATIC.

59. Point of view: ANGLE.

60. Jargon in a video game chat, maybe: LEET SPEAK - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Substituting numbers for similarly shaped numbers

Down:

1. Muslim face covering: NIQAB.

2. Harden: INURE.

3. Nannies and kids: GOATS 😀

4. Work wk. units: HRS - My teacher work was for a year but my summer jobs were by the hour

5. Work wk. conclusion: TGIF.

6. Term of affection para una chica: MAMI - Haría cualquier cosa POR UNA CHICA como tú (I'd do anything FOR A GIRL like you)

7. Switch positions: ON OFF.

8. Celebrated, perhaps: DID A LITTLE DANCE.

9. Italian scholar Umberto: ECO.

10. "On the __ of Sex": 2018 biopic: BASIS - A bio of RBG

11. Baking soda target: ODOR.

12. Chi: LIFE FORCE.

13. Cocktail party attire: TEA DRESS.

14. Kinda sketch: SUS - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ "Kinda sus sketch" is a casual slang phrase meaning a person, place or situation feels slightly suspicious, shady or untrustworthy. It combines kinda sus (a bit suspicious) with sketch (short for sketchy), doubling down on the idea that something is off.

21. Hydrate right after planting, as seedlings: WATER IN.

23. Source of siroccos: SAHARA.

25. Journalist Payne known as the "First Lady of the Black Press": ETHEL.

27. German "east": OST.

29. Uncovered: BARE.

30. Hall of Fame figures: STATUES - Next year, Pete Rose will be eligible for the MLB Hall Of Fame (probably with an asterisk for his gambling). Until then, he has a very unique STATUE outside of the ballpark in Cincinnati.

32. First poet to perform at the Super Bowl: GORMAN ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Here she is presenting it before Super Bowl LV (1:34).

33. Comparatively large band: THUMB RING 😀

34. Theater section: SCENE - Seems like it's more of a play section...

35. Mascara applicator: WAND.

36. Gathering that celebrates DC icons: COMIC CON - It took me a while to abandon our national capital for Detective Comics.

37. "Love that!": YES.

42. "Siddhartha" novelist: HESSE - Siddhartha is a Sanskrit name meaning "one who has attained his goals" or "he who has accomplished his aim"

“Wisdom cannot be imparted. Wisdom that a wise man attempts to impart always sounds like foolishness to someone else ... Knowledge can be communicated, but not wisdom." Herman Hesse, Siddhartha