PUZZLES Thursday, February 25, 2021 Straight in Front by Catherine Cetta Universal Crossword edited by David Steinberg ACROSS 1 Dull-colored 5 Lumberjack’s tool: Var. 8 Gather together 13 Italian city whose name anagrams to “anise” 14 “Star Wars” villain Kylo ___ 15 Word before “airplane” or “home” 16 *Butt heads 18 Make up (for) 19 Grown-ups 20 Openly transgender 22 Woodwind that uses treble clef 23 ___ mortal 24 *Architecture or construction 27 Palindromic horn sound 29 Did a 10K, say 30 Bundle of grain 33 Noisy kiss 36 Part of a play 39 *Something that catches you off guard 42 Source of cash 43 Trigonometry ratios 44 Extremely angry 45 Neurologist’s scan, briefly 46 Spanish for “this” 48 *Evade conviction 53 Adele or Cher, vocally 57 Opposite of exo- 58 Dress code requirement, at times 59 Hosted a show 61 Contribute to the mix 63 Directly in your path, or a hint to what can precede each starred answer’s first word 65 Wafer cookie brand 66 Summer hrs. on Cape Cod 67 School year segments 68 Costly 69 Pastrami bread 70 ___ Pie (popular ice cream bar) DOWN 1 The “D” of LED 2 Happen repeatedly 3 Piece of low art, informally? 4 Thai money 5 Cry from a pirate 6 Noble gas in arc lamps 7 Come after 8 Physician’s org. 9 The Supremes’ record label 10 Chicken ___ (Filipino dish) 11 Mister, in Mexico City 12 Smooth and glossy 13 Shut loudly 17 Munch Museum’s Scandinavian capital 21 Flashlight, to a Brit 25 “Challenge accepted!” 26 Pretend to know what you’re doing 28 Compensate for 30 Org. for mom- and-pop stores 31 Like the weather in Florida, often 32 Stately tree 34 35 36 37 38 40 41 45 47 48 49 50 51 52 54 55 56 60 62 64 Mrs., in Marseille Flummoxed Pie ___ mode Director’s cry Casual top “Correct!” Raised for discussion French for “star” Raced Coffee grinder inputs Send a breakup text, say Confuse Duck with downy feathers Like a swamp with many plants Apprehensive Squads 10 to 1, e.g. Down Under pal Nod off briefly Had a snack Universal Crossword edited by David Steinberg 36 Rapid eyelid movement 38 Food regimen 41 Out of view 43 Suggests, with “at” 44 Speeding by an Encore or Enclave? 48 Queen of the hill, say? 49 Summer zodiac sign 50 One of three in a water molecule 51 Get bored with 53 Undergarment that often has an underwire 54 Tab for an acid trip 57 Big-screen movie format 58 “That makes sense to me,” and a hint to 17-, 28- and 44-Across 62 Statistician Silver 63 Fork prong 64 Initial TV episode 65 Full-bodied beers 66 Champagne glass part 67 Itty-bitty DOWN 1 “Dear” advice- giver 2 Real estate deal 3 Flabbergast 4 Yellowfin tuna 5 “Without a doubt!” 6 Foolhardy 7 Notebook’s spine, perhaps 8 Architect Maya 9 “Is anything wrong?” 10 The “E” in HOMES 11 Navel-shaped pasta 12 Dress 13 Unlikely to lie 18 Owns, biblically 23 Kind of diagram with overlaps 24 They may be caramelized 25 Letters in a major cellular carrier’s URL 26 “Don’t ___ on my parade!” 28 Barbecue spice mix 29 Game with Skip cards 30 Draw pictures for 31 Sparkle A11 HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY MATHIS FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2021 Cosmic Captain Obvious Don’t Start With Me by Jessie Bullock & Ross Trudeau ACROSS 1 Evaluate, as ore 6 Mayim Bialik’s Golden State sch. 10 Make an impression? 14 Scrub in the tub 15 Pinot ___ 16 Caramelly Hershey’s candy 17 Drink with turquoise food coloring mixed in? 19 Word after “scrap” or “steam” 20 Strong desire 21 Feel crummy 22 ___ Nicole Brown of “Community” 24 They can be soaked in milk overnight 26 Salmon eggs 27 Stereotypical Canadian interjections 28 Get a scratch on one’s armored glove? 33 Like a dark room 34 Soccer star Messi 35 Cowboy’s neckwear East Oregonian 32 Monotony 36 Perks like health care 37 Brick produced with 0.002 mm accuracy 39 And so on, for short 40 Scolding sound 42 Grain storage spot 43 “McMillions” channel 44 Green film on the Statue of Liberty 45 Koala or bear 46 Apollo Theater’s New York neighborhood 47 And others, for short 52 Partners before “the one” 53 Skeleton part 54 Kid-lit crocodile 55 Before long 56 Voting is a civic one 59 ___ for a king 60 Choose 61 Michelle of LPGA fame Sometimes the theme of the day emerges as we make our way through the hours. Events occur that can be characterized by loose association and upon reflection will fall or be jostled into a more or less fitting category. The current astral line up has us waking up inside just the theme we need, which will be declared as obviously as skywriting. ARIES (March 21-April 19). You will let go of a little piece of pride in the hopes of coming to a harmonious place in a relationship. Other parties may not be so willing, at least not initially, but your example will lead the way. TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Love is many things. Today, it’s being able to correctly assess and cater to an emotional state. Turn your nurturing powers in on yourself or turn them to another person. Either way, the love begets more love. GEMINI (May 21-June 21). There’s a situation you pursued in the past. The doors were closed back then. Now brings the beginning of the turn. This one doesn’t need to be seized so much as slowly, curiously encountered. CANCER (June 22-July 22). You admire emotional restraint, but don’t be fooled. People who seem in control of their “feels” are possibly not feeling them quite as deeply as you are. Your passion intensifies the highs and lows. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You’ll be bright in two moments: the practice moment that happens in the safety of an empty room and the moment of inhale that pauses the action just long enough for you to insert yourself between opportunity and a grand potential. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). There was a time you didn’t know the standard, only your own experience which didn’t teach you enough. Now you know how people can effectively help one another, so you see what’s not going on as clearly as what is. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Your sense of focus is on point and you’ve never been so serious about advancing your interests and the interests of those you answer to. Narrow down your task list so the big important things get the best of you. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). If there’s one thing you don’t need today, it’s advice. For starters, your intuition is on fire. And furthermore, you’re going to do this thing in a way that’s so unique, no one else has thought of it yet. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). There is no such thing as failure. If you’re putting things out into the world, trying things, working through fear and limitation, risking your pride, then you’re winning no matter what the outcome. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Impart the plan and cast your supporters in fitting roles. Then, watch it unfold. You’re a guide through this process. Don’t get so involved in the labor that you forget to put your head up to get the overview. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). There are people you appreciate because you can count on them to make good sense and help you onto the right path. Then there are people you appreciate because they don’t have to make sense to be loveable to you. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Because you want to know what others want, you ask, fully expecting to get back lies. It takes a special kind of listening to get past social niceties and know which questions to ask to get to the real truth. TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Feb. 26). Spiritual development elevates your experience. Whether pleasures are many or few, goals are met or not, relationships grind or sail blissfully, your joy, grace, gratitude and compassion flow strong through it all. Professional shifts align brilliantly with your talents. Bonus money allows for fun improvements. Virgo and Leo adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 9, 30, 33, 1 and 14. Universal SUDOKU SOLUTIONS HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY MATHIS SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2021 Virgo Full Moon The industriousness that comes with Virgo energy signals high productivity levels as the moon mixes it up in this realm. The fullness of the lunar vibes has emotions of all sorts spilling over, and it’s up to us to get on board with the feelings that help our cause. Feed as much energy back into those supportive feelings as possible. ARIES (March 21-April 19). Competent people are attracted to you and will offer help doing just the thing you need. This is partly due to magical happenstance and partly because you notice and encourage the skill and talent of those around you. TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You could be the most confident person in the world and it wouldn’t make a bit of difference in how much a certain someone likes you. It’s how you make that person feel that moves the needle. GEMINI (May 21-June 21). You’ve known all along that there’s much that can only be accomplished through being around and learning from people who are different from yourself. These days, the diversity of your group is a success key. CANCER (June 22-July 22). Even driven people don’t get after it at top speed through the whole journey. Comfort, sleep, inactivity, silliness and even counter- productivity are all states that have a place in the cycle of growth and attainment. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). The world looks fresh; the world looks broken. It’s the same world, just a different mindset guiding the eyes. Optimism sometimes feels like a stretch, but cats like you know the value in taking that stretch more or less constantly. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). What people are expressing to you is pretty easy to catch onto. Being advanced in your knowledge of human emotion, you take this further. You feel into the absence of feeling and learn all you need to know there. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). As for the art of loving and the art of being alone, both curriculums exist in the same Fine Arts Building at the University of Life. They are sister programs in the interdisciplinary track. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). When they ask you why you made X choice instead of Y choice, you may not have a great line of reasoning to impart. Suffice it to say, much comes to you by way of human instinct. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). It will be a thrill to touch a milepost on the way to a goal. These moments need to be celebrated big-time. It’s an important moment in the brain chemistry that plays into a successful cycle. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). You turn to community to learn, feel love, give of your talents and make a difference to others. Even so, you’ll relish being alone after being happily depleted by your community. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). You don’t have to explain everything you do, not even to yourself. In fact, today, explaining would only slow you down, diminish the mystery and put a damper on the magic. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). You’ll be concerned with matters of respect, giving it to those who deserve it and acting in such a way that you deserve it from yourself. Whether you get it from others is a moot point. Abide by your own value system. TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Feb. 27). You’ll realize how you were holding on for dear life to something that’s not even buoyant. A new perspective will have you dropping the thing that makes you work so hard to stay afloat (both emotionally and fiscally) in favor of a truly light and protective entity that will make your journey a pleasure. Aquarius and Capricorn adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 9, 40, 1, 11 and 17. Universal SUDOKU SOLUTIONS