L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Husker Gary

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Jun 6, 2026

Saturday, June 6, 2026, August Miller

Saturday June 6, 2066 by August Miller

August is a constructor we have seen very often here in the last 12 months. I blogged his first LA Times themeless just year and now this is the 6th one. 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 flew through the top half of August's puzzle but ran into too many options in the mideast, however, I eventually managed a hard-earned "got 'er done"! As you can see below, this puzzle had 9 unique long fills some of which took some effort.

Across:

1. App on the half shell: CLAMS CASINO - According to legend, the recipe for clams casino was originally developed in 1917 in the Little Casino in Narragansett, Rhode Island, by a maître d'hôtel for a woman of means wanting something special for her guests.

12. Promos: ADS.

15. Online scale with a green splat icon: TOMATOMETER - The only movie I walked out on got a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 5% and a green splatted tomato.

16. __ culpa: MEA - In current lexicon - "My Bad". All the big names in the movie above owed the public a MEA CULPA.

17. Number that should never be shared: ONE TIME CODE - A CODE that is usually sent to my iPhone to make sure it is a valid log on.

18. Chic bag monogram: YSL - $1,700 will get you this chic bag with the YSL monogram.

19. __ ed: SEX.

20. Bean in frijoles de la olla: PINTO - Beans from the pot. We see "ollas" for Spanish pots here in crosswords.

21. Calculator brand: CASIO - I remember being amazed by my first calculator. Now I have one on my watch, phone and laptop along with many other apps that dwarf the capabilities of our moon lander computers of the 1960's.

23. Shapes into a wreath, say: BENDS.

24. Luray feature: CAVERN - Luray, VA in the Shenandoah Valley is famous for its caverns. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

25. Trampoline sound: BOING.

27. Pride event: PARADE.

28. Maker of Sinatra Select whiskey: JACK DANIELS.

31. Galoot: APE.

33. After-lunch sandwich: OREO.

34. __ compression: information technology method: LOSSY - If you must know more

35. Door opening?: TRAP - Moviedom's best TRAP door scene (2:45)

36. Schedule abbr.: TBA.

37. Comedic interludes on some 47-Across albums: HIP-HOP SKITS - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ They exist

39. Moonstruck: IN LOVE.

41. Wee bit: SKOSH.

42. Dress rack label: PETITE.

43. Cinq moins deux: TROIS - In Spanish, 5 - 2 = 3

45. Amino __: ACIDS.

46. Models whose names typically started with 9: SAABS.

47. GloRilla genre: RAP - Her lyrics are NSFW

50. Pea body?: POD.

51. Birth years for some of Gen Z: EARLY AUGHTS.

54. Equal: ARE.

55. Agreed-upon next steps: ACTION ITEMS.

56. Berlioz's "__ Troyens": LES - "The Trojans" is a five act opera based on The Aeneid 😳

57. Simple way to start the day: TEA AND TOAST.

Down:

1. R&D execs: CTOS - Chief Technology Officer

2. Unique: LONE.

3. Black Card co.: AMEX.

4. Welcome site?: MAT and 30. Somewhat: ISH.

5. Fixed allowance: STIPEND.

6. Really starting to shine: COMING ALIVE.

7. Revise: AMEND.

8. Splinter groups: SECTS.

9. "__, am America": Hughes: I TOO.

10. Kelly who narrates Peter Carey's "True History of the Kelly Gang": NED. I lost my own father at 12 yr. of age and know what it is to be raised on lies and silences my dear daughter you are presently too young to understand a word I write but this history is for you and will contain no single lie may I burn in Hell if I speak false.

11. Entities that carry rock and roll: ORE CARS - Fun cluing

12. Comedian who voices Princess Carolyn in "BoJack Horseman": AMY SEDARIS. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

13. Unplanned shortcut: DESIRE PATH.

14. Business where employees often get snippy?: SALON. 😀

22. Hannah's "Hacks" role: AVA. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

23. Sweet rice cake from the Philippines: BIKO.¯\_(ツ)_/¯

24. Group of Caribbean islands?: CALYPSO BAND - 😀 Oh, the group is not the islands not the islands but a group of performers on the islands! Doh!

25. Hot pink aesthetic: BARBIE CORE - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Won't this become (or has become) "So last year?"

26. Changing sea levels?: OCEAN TIDES - This is the TIDE chart for Cocoa Beach, FL. for today. If I had teenagers there today around 6:30 pm, would they be finding lots of shells?

27. Mexican bar tender: PESO - Tender is another word for money

28. Wee bit: JOT.

29. "Nice try": NOPE - I'll bet you can do the imitation.

30. [See at 30 Down]

32. Some indie releases: EPS - Extended plays

35. MMA calls: TKOS - Images are pretty violent

37. Place for grilling or roasting: HOT SEAT - Senator Kennedy brings the heat!

38. Resort wear: SKI SUIT.

40. Top: LID.

42. __ bull: PAPAL - A papal bull is a highly formal public decree or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It takes its name from the Latin word bulla, referring to the leaden seal traditionally attached to authenticate the document.

43. "Nonnas" actress Shire: TALIA - I'll bet you can pick out Rocky's Adrian from this cast picture from Nonnas

Okay, she's second from the left.

44. Lustrous synthetic: RAYON.

46. Chica's title: Abbr.: SRTA - Chica is most commonly used for the Spanish word for girl

47. Cassowary kin: RHEA.

48. Spots for checks and balances?: ATMS 😀

49. Whisper before "Pass it on!": PSST.

52. Serena slam?: ACE.

53. Classic Pontiac: GTO.

Lest we forget the June 6 of 82 years ago:

May 30, 2026

Saturday, May 30, 2026, Alan Levin

Saturday Themeless by Alan Levin

Across

1. Adjustable border: HEM 😀

4. Heavy coat?: FOG. 😀

7. Donor's words: I GAVE.

12. Smithwick's, for one: ALE.

13. Metric weights: KILOS.

15. Puff piece?: CIGAR 😀

16. Join: SIT BESIDE - When Queen Elizabeth II's dad George VI came to D.C. for a state dinner in 1939, this was the seating chart.

Click to enlarge

18. Temper: INURE.

19. Rogers Centre team: TORONTO BLUEJAYS - I would love to watch the MLB TORONTO BLUEJAYS play a game while I am sitting atop the CN Tower and then they have retract the roof in the Rogers Centre

21. Georgia city nickname: A-TOWN - An alternate name for the state capital Atlanta, GA.

22. Rodeo circuit?: LASSO

23. "May I?": PLEASE.

26. Boondocks: STICKS - The boondocks is an American expression from the Tagalog (Filipino) word bundók ("mountain").

30. Problem that can grow with fame: EGO.

32. Rendezvous: TRYST.

34. Time when shadows are shortest: NOON - I lovingly remember the long shadows of afternoon World Series games in late September.

35. One goal of the Marine Mammal Protection Act: DOLPHIN SAFE TUNA - This Chicken Of The Sea TUNA is non-GMO and DOLPHIN SAFE as efforts were made to have the nets cause less distress to dolphins.

39. Diamond who went platinum: NEIL - Here is NEIL's first certified platinum album (sales over one million). It did not make platinum but I just about wore out his very first album

40. Ricochet: CAROM.

41. Syncopated piece: RAG - Wasn't he your first thought too?

42. Intel providers: ASSETS - ASSETS (spies) are often sent out to gather intel

45. Take to the limit: MAX OUT.

47. __ restaurant: THEME - One of my favs is the Sci-Fi Drive In at Disney Studios. You are seated in replicas of old cars while old move trailers, cartoons and ads play on the big screen.

49. Try to get a rise out of: TROLL.

52. Major achievement?: BACHELOR'S DEGREE - I've got one of those around here somewhere where I majored in math. 58. Studied on the side: MINORED IN - My minor was physics.

57. Dough in a French bakery: EUROS - I wonder what euphemisms the French use for money.

59. Pong maker: ATARI - Wanna play a free online game?

60. Some clinic procedures: SCANS.

61. Arch Manning's uncle: ELI.

62. Caesar dressing?: TOGAS 😀

63. "Gorillas in the Mist" subject: APE.

64. Managed: RAN.

Down:

1. "__ la vista": HASTA - "See you later" literally means "until the view" or "until the seeing". ¡Hasta luego, cocodrilo! (See you later alligator)

2. "Daniel Deronda" novelist: ELIOT - George ELIOT. The nom de plume for Mary Ann Evans.

"No evil dooms us hopelessly except the evil we love, and desire to continue in, and make no effort to escape from."

3. Chicago, for one: METROPOLIS.

4. Hand ball?: FIST 😀

5. Pasta aglio e __: OLIO - Below is spaghetti aglio e OLIO (with garlic and oil)

6. Seventh-inning stretch song, often: GOD BLESS AMERICA - MLB started doing this after 9/11 and now only the Yankees do it.

7. Least friendly: ICIEST.

8. Noir establishment: GIN JOINT - Hey, you thought of this too...

9. Arizona's __ Fria river: AGUA - Even I can translate this but...but if you can't

10. Fluctuate: VARY.

11. Spanish 101 word: ERES - Tù ERES muy comico. (You are very funny.)

13. "30 Rock" page: KENNETH - Getting his tie pulled by star Tina Fey

14. Actress Ward: SELA.

17. Pick up a few spares, perhaps: BOWL - The hardest one.

20. Carrier letters: USS.

24. "Midsommar" director Aster: ARI. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

25. Line up: SYNC - I love getting together to watch the Lincoln Saltdogs professional baseball team play for Father's Day, but we have to SYNC the schedules.

27. Writ, e.g.: COURT ORDER.

28. Longboard Island Lager brewer: KONA.