Saturday, August 23, 2025, Matthew Stock & Willa Angel Chen Miller

Saturday Themeless by Matthew Stock and Willa Angel Chen Miller

This collaboration was a real challenge and I was very happy when I got the Congratulations message. I cherry picked some fill, some of which took some real linguistic gymnastics, and then, as usual, the long fills were the key to finishing. I had no shot at Peter Pan BUS STATION but it had to be after I sussed out NEWB and INTERNET FAMOUS. 

Matthew told me he is still pursuing a Master's Degree in Florida. He said he made a connection with Willa through mentoring and he has enjoyed working with her on several puzzles.

Willa lives across the country from Matthew in the S.F. Bay Area and is a software managing engineer for Google. She listed Matthew, Robyn Weintraub and Erik Agard as great mentors.

This is a wonderful interview she gave.

 

Across:

1. Low growth: TOE NAIL 😀

8. Green party?: NEWB - NEWB, NOOB, NEWBIE, etc.

12. Shared loads?: INTERNET FAMOUS - I had never heard of this term but know there are people who are INTERNET FAMOUS. Matthew told me I was right in thinking it means these people get their post shared loads of times. "Loads is used as an adjectival phrase". Matthew said this was all Ella! 😀

16. Game that's over in the blink of an eye: STARING CONTEST 😀

17. Bit of sign language?: OLDE

18. Moves quickly?: RELOS.

19. Made a lap: SAT 😀 Yeah, I put RAN first too.

21. Small plates of fish: SCALES - Fish have these small plates called scales.

23. Argentine "other": OTRO.

24. "Watch this space" letters: TBA - To Be Announced

27. Oscar nominee Gladstone: LILY ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

28. Penchant: KNACK.

29. Go badly?: TRESPASS 😀

31. Fume: SEETHE.

32. Fried fish at the Minnesota State Fair: WALLEYE.

33. Long-haired cat breed: PERSIAN - Irish will love this picture. 

34. Minor keys?: ISLETS 😀 Keys and ISLETS are both small islands  

35. Curry and others: WARRIORS - No thought of a spice for me

36. Bob Marley's "__ Little Birds": THREE.

37. Macro type: CARB.

38. Medical discipline with a five-year residency, for short: ENT.

39. Round in a poker tournament: CHIP 😀

40. Tandoori flatbread: LAVASH - LAVASH cooking in a tandoor 

42. Lady bird: HEN.

43. Classic rock singer: SIREN - Below is a rock formation on the Rhine River from which the songs of the Lorelei or SIRENS lured sailors to their deaths as chronicled in Homer's Odyssey.

44. Literature Nobelist Tokarczuk: OLGA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

48. Not too dirty: AGE APPROPRIATE.

52. Paperwork to let someone go: PERMISSION SLIP - After 58 years in schools I've signed thousands of these.

53. Hungrily rummage through: RAID.

54. Class with a mean teacher?: AP STATS - Mean, median and mode

Down:

1. "Verily!": TIS.

2. Atop: ONTO.

3. Name-dropping abbr.: ET AL.

4. Bite on a rope or cluster: NERD 😀

 

5. First sign of spring: ARIES.

6. Holiday __: INN.

7. Pilates movement: LEG RAISE.

8. Some models with click wheels: NANOS - Here a click wheel is being replaced on an iPod NANO

9. AED experts: EMTS.

10. Rhyme of "Romeo" in the last couplet of "Romeo and Juliet": WOE.

11. Peter Pan's destination: BUS STATION ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  Never Never Land? Not so much.

13. Immune system components: T-CELLS.

14. Matt who lived in a van down by the river on "SNL": FOLEY - Featuring the brilliant Chris Farley

15. Picture with a lot of space: STAR CHART.

20. Arcade handful: TOKENS.

22. They're fired before being sent home: CLAYS.

23. Pajama Day attire: ONESIE.

24. What a load of junk!: TRASH HEAP.

25. Salvation Army volunteer: BELL RINGER.

26. Out: ASLEEP.

28. Australian model Miranda: KERR.

Australian Vogue

29. Justin.tv successor: TWITCH - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ If you really want to know more...

30. "Mayor __": national politics moniker: PETE.

31. Balkan natives: SERBS.

33. "Beau Is Afraid" theme: PARANOIA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

35. Has second thoughts: WAVERS.

37. Moans and groans: CARPS - We have been known to CARP about some words we see here. 

40. Oily compound: LIPID.

41. Animal butters?: HORNS 😀

43. Indigenous people known for reindeer herding: SAMI.

 

45. Bullet train?: LIST - Here is a bulleted LIST I use before I give my NASA presentation.

46. Blowout: GALA.

47. Grinding along: AT IT.

49. New __: cap brand: ERA.

50. Start to show: POP.

51. Short records, for short: EPS - 45's would work better for me than Extended PlayS although they are shorter than albums.

I am so proud to tell you that we attended our grandson's "White Coat" ceremony yesterday at the Orpheum Theater in Omaha. Hudson will be starting Med School at the prestigious University Of Nebraska Medical School where he was one of 145 candidates chosen from 2,300 applicants. 

 

    

Saturday, August 16, 2025, August Miller

 Saturday Themeless by August Miller

Here is a wonderful interview of this former physics Ph.D. candidate turned farmer who lives in Berkshire County, MA: https://dailycrosswordlinks.com/2025/03/29/constructor-spotlight-august-miller/

 Across:

1. "Totally had you there!": PSYCH.

6. "Odelay" musician: BECK ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

10. Pricing words: A POP.

14. Terence Blanchard work: OPERA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

15. Boba tea additive: ALOE.

16. Igloo shape: DOME.

17. Modern farm technology: SOLAR ARRAY.

19. Rollover subj.: IRAS.

20. One who went gray gracefully: SILVER FOX.

21. Way around D.C.: METRO - My granddaughter used this on every school day at American University in D.C.

22. "Or __ what?": ELSE.

23. __ out: TRY - Not: Far, Pig, Cry, Pan, Opt, Eke, Way, etc.

24. Part of a college visit: TOUR.

25. "American Hustle" org.: FBI - Based on FBI Abscam Sting scandal of late 70's

26. Orbiter until 2001: MIR - A space station launched and operated by Russia (nee Soviet Union 😀)

27. Clerical tunic: ALB.

30. Line at a reunion: IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU - First of three grid spanners. The top two were helpful but the name took a lot of help.

36. Springtime side: ASPARAGUS SPEARS.

37. "The Substance" Golden Globe nominee: MARGARET QUALLEY ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

38. Natori Feathers garment: BRA.

39. QB stats: YDS.

40. Rte. 180?: UEY - We said, "Flip a UEY"

41. First name in couture: YVES - We often see his initials in crosswords

43. Tip for a writer?: NIB.

44. Simple sammies: PBJ'S - I love PB&J's and BLT's

48. Gross-smelling: FETID - A lyric from the play 1776 sung by William Daniels as John Adams as he bemoans the tedious drafting of the Declaration in the hot summer of 1776.

50. "Get some rest": GO TO SLEEP.

52. Very little: A DAB.

53. Gathering where everyone gets shots?: BOTOX PARTY.

54. Niche mag: ZINE - In slang, "zine" is a shortened term for fanzine, which is a small-circulation, self-published magazine or booklet, often focusing on a a specific niche interest. 

55. Injury kissed by a parent: OWIE.

56. __-Norman French: ANGLO.

57. Outlet for crafty types: ETSY.

58. Six-legged farm animals: ANTS.

59. Ingredient in some printing ink: RESIN.

Down:

1. Crew: POSSE - Originally a group formed by a lawman in the old west to pursue outlaws. These days it can be any group with a common purpose.

2. Turn: SPOIL.

3. Uses one's outside voice: YELLS.

4. Fancy and then some: CRAVE.

5. Fabled napper: HARE.

6. Spots to grab a few beers: BAR FRIDGES 😀

7. Orbit City boy: ELROY - George Jetson's son

8. Cajole: COAX.

9. Essential: KEY.

10. Parting mot: ADIEU 😀

11. Representation: PORTRAYAL - Hmmm... Burt Lancaster as an Apache warrior in the 1954 movie Apache

12. Actor Sy of the Netflix series "Lupin": OMAR ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

13. 100 centavos: PESO.

18. Multimedia surfaces: ART BOARDS.

21. Union's demand: MORE PAY.

24. Container that can be repurposed as a biodegradable planter for seedlings: TISSUE BOX - EGG CARTON was a first confident entry for this solver.

25. Made inroads: FORAYED - Yup, you can make any noun into a verb

26. Summer cloud: MOSQUITOES - We have hardly any at all for several summers but with all the rain we have had this year...

28. Stories of the past: LORE.

29. Not free: BUSY.

30. "For one," for one: IAMB - "For one" is one IAMB

31. Ruler until 1917: TSAR.

32. Some faux coats: SPRAY TANS - A lot of Nebraska girls get a "fake bake" for Spring Prom

33. __ gift: GAG.

34. Sound of disapproval: TUT.

35. Serpentine creature: EEL.

42. Evoking good feelings, in slang: VIBEY  - "Vibey" is an informal term, generally meaning lively and brand, often used to describe a place, atmosphere, or even a piece of music. 

43. Cry in the playground: NOT IT - I remember these words preceding a spirited round of hide-and-go-seek.

44. American way?: PLANE. 😀

45. Features of icy breakups: BERGS.

46. Actor who played the Emperor of China in 2020's "Mulan": JET LI.

47. Watch from the bushes, say: SPY ON.

48. Get to: FAZE.

49. Exchange words?: EDIT. 😀

50. Vera Wang design: GOWN.

51. Exchange words: SPAR - Before fists fly, these sessions are used to increase the gate 

53. Serpentine creature: BOA.

Notes from C.C.:

Happy 75th birthday to our punny and witty Friday  Sherpa MM. Here is a picture of him at Chiang Rai in 2017. 

Chiang Rai, 2017