PUZZLES Thursday, March 18, 2021 Has ty Conclusions by Winston Emmons Universal Crossword edited by David Steinberg ACROSS 1 Show agreement 4 Easy to bend 10 Legendary Yankees shortstop, informally 14 Dominican lover’s word 15 Hang around 16 Manage somehow 17 Devotion to circular take-out food? 19 Group of families 20 Feeling relaxed 21 100% 22 “___ up to you” 23 Distinguished British women 26 Have mercy on 29 “Of course, Ms. Boop”? 33 Less feral 34 Skirt lines 35 Starter for “horn” or “string” 36 ___-Wan Kenobi 37 Ruckuses 38 Hammer’s cleaning partner 39 Bone that’s longer than a radius 41 (Stay away from my pride!) 42 Sound pollution 44 Cat that may bring you a wrench? 46 Fiery crime 47 About to fall out, like a tooth 48 Actress LaRue or Longoria 49 Ancient art venues 52 Allotment 56 Name whose last three letters are a limb 57 Really large place to land? 61 Additional 62 “Don’t ___ it” (caution about strenuous activity) 63 UFO crew 64 Part of a certain necklace 65 Chevy SUVs 66 Friend of Larry and Curly DOWN 1 California wine region 2 Exclude 3 Nod off 4 It may contain lime and water 5 Moves with long strides 6 Three, on a sundial 7 Enjoyed empanadas, say 8 Work without a ___ 9 Make an effort 10 Points a finger at 11 Piece of sushi 12 Outback gemstone 13 Reject as false 18 Democratic Republic of the Congo, once 21 What starts with 2/1: Abbr. 23 Assignment information 24 Site of stored weapons 25 State of untidiness 26 Heavily built 27 Cellist Casals 28 ___ acid (protein component) 29 Emergent plants 30 Bangkok residents 31 Abdomen’s body section 32 Oman neighbor 37 Group such as Emerson, Lake & Palmer 40 Not yet proven 42 Some Arizona natives 43 Speak pompously, perhaps 45 Boxing stats 48 Wear away 49 Its teeth may touch a brush 50 With 51-Down, soothing plant 51 See 50-Down 53 Something purchased 54 Palindromic German name 55 The Big Board in the Big Apple: Abbr. 57 Quickly note (down) 58 State sch. southwest of D.C. 59 “Unimpressive” 60 “Dude!” Not So Musical by Alex Rosen Universal Crossword edited by David Steinberg ACROSS 1 Fizzy drink 4 Like a stereotypical teen’s room 9 French pancake 14 Tribute in verse 15 Eschew a big wedding 16 Bed cover 17 Do a floor chore 18 *Shakespearean sleepwalker (see letters 4 to 7 in this answer) 20 Make ready, for short 22 Like a bank account, vis-a-vis the stock market 23 Empire that treasured alpacas 24 Disoriented 26 Cozy place to stay 27 Elite English boarding school 28 Doubter 31 “How r u?” and others 33 *Satisfied person (5 to 8) 36 ___ XING 39 Top-flight crew 40 Sixth col. on a cal., perhaps 41 Christmas plant 43 Kitten’s cry 44 *”See? That proves it!” (6 to 9) 47 Cost of admission 48 Morose-looking 49 Bassoon relative 52 “Honest” prez 55 Spend time with People, say 56 Unable to decide 57 Apple’s apple and Red Lobster’s red lobster 59 Word before “blue” or “bean” 62 *”30 Rock” co- star (3 to 6) 65 Thumb in a fairy tale 66 Participate in, as a drawing 67 Singer Haggard 68 “... and the list goes on”: Abbr. 69 49-Across inserts 70 In its ___ (as a replacement) 71 Location of many schools? DOWN 1 Splendor 2 Skunk’s defense 3 Love-starved cartoon skunk 4 Blanc who voiced 3-Down 5 Stretchy 6 Fizzy drink 7 Genre for Bond movies 8 Neighbor of Saudi Arabia 9 Public health agcy. 10 Red gems 11 Happening 12 Chain that sells dog food 13 Hawke of Hollywood 19 Golfer Palmer, to fans 21 Momma’s partner, maybe 25 Thwart 28 Phony 29 Duchess Middleton 30 Place to drink a flat white 32 Dr. Jekyll’s alter ego 34 ___ Robinson (“The Graduate” role) 35 Chasms 36 Meetings arranged by parents 37 “Do it or ___!” 38 Like blue hair 42 Singer Billy or Frank 45 Dominion 46 Wine in an Italian chicken dish 47 Engaged in swordplay 49 Playful river mammal 50 Carried, as by wind 51 Take the podium 53 Explosion sounds 54 Everglades bird 58 Fairy-tale villain 60 Yea or nay 61 Popular sing- along song that’s butchered in the starred answers? 63 Mos. and mos. 64 Marge’s neighbor East Oregonian A13 HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY MATHIS FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021 Fun Games on the Last Day of the Pisces Sun On the last day of psychic Pisces sun, try and read the mind of someone you know well, and then check the answers. Try to read the mind of someone you don’t know at all. Imagine where your next text will come from. Guess what the next 12 months hold. Write it down and seal it in an envelope you won’t open until the spring equinox 2022. ARIES (March 21-April 19). A person with a good attitude sees a mixed-bag opportunity and thinks of making the most of it. But you don’t have a good attitude. Your attitude is stellar. You absolutely know you’ll crush the coal into a diamond. TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Looking past people’s limitations, searching for their beauty, seeing it, pointing it out... these are some of the ways you make others happy. So much of that happiness will splash back onto you. GEMINI (May 21-June 21). The work of love isn’t a doing/acting/fixing job today. The work of love is a listening gig, an “entering in the spirit of another” practice, a task that encompasses receiving and relaxing. CANCER (June 22-July 22). What you’re hearing will mentally trigger a story about the time it happened to you, but you won’t tell that story. Instead, you’ll give your support generously without flipping focus your way. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You like to know what others are doing, but even more interesting to you is why they are doing it. You’re not content with the first reasons that surface. Your fascination kicks in with the deeper ones. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You would like it if people would understand what’s important to you, but when they don’t, you simply show them again, no fuss. People often need multiple examples to internalize knowledge. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). As the second air sign of the zodiac, you have intimate knowledge of the kind of wonders that can arrive on the wind. Psychic breezes will kick up today, not so hard as to blow you off course but just strong enough to gently rock you. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Setting things straight works wonderfully in a linear situation, like a library shelf. As for the biological and emotional world, circles and wiggliness are the norm. There’s no sillier futility than trying to set wiggly things straight! SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). The silence between two people is as unique as the sound of their shared language. As you listen to a quiet punctuated by words, you’ll hear clearly the heart’s intention. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). What do you want? You’ve been choosing for the good of others, but if you’re not happy too, no one will be happy. Make yourself smile first, and then watch the other faces alight. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Integrity is power. Loyalty, honor, stoicism, duty – all the qualities that could fit into the themes of heroic drama will also apply to your role and the current scene of which you are definitely the hero. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Even great beauty isn’t recognized by all. Some see it. Many miss. You have the sort of thoughtful, intelligent eye that can and will see many different kinds of beauty, even when it’s enshrouded in ordinariness. TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (March 19). A guiding realization: Other people’s definition of success is great for them but would be a hollow win for you. You have your own version and will embody it. You commit to what’s important, and life shifts to support those priorities. You’ll have excellent luck attracting the right resources and relationships. Gemini and Scorpio adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 1, 30, 22, 27 & 16. Universal SUDOKU SOLUTIONS HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY MATHIS SATURDAY, MARCH 20, 2021 Opening Notes of the Spring Equinox The sun glides boldly into Aries with the swagger of a rock star wailing the opening note that begins the astrological concert. This is the transit of birth, new starts and the fresh fortune that goes with it. Beginner’s luck springs from this paradox: When you have nothing, you have nothing to lose. ‘Tis the season of enterprise, risk and hope. ARIES (March 21-April 19). Even as you long for things to be different, recognize the preciousness of this time. Long stretches of sameness are a necessary backdrop to change. The movement and the stillness are equally lovely. TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You’re focused on what you get to do instead of what you have to do. Of course, they are the same action items, but that one- word change makes all the difference. GEMINI (May 21-June 21). In relationships, what succeeds or fails isn’t in the actual real-world exchanges but in the participant’s heads. You’ll increase the impact of your actions by focusing beyond them and into the mind of your counterpart. CANCER (June 22-July 22). You can climb the success ladder higher and higher until you touch every rung, but it’s only going to bring you fulfillment if that ladder is leaning against the right building. The burning question: WHAT’S worth the climb? LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). The smile-thief named “unmet expectations” is a prodigious and stealthy collector. Many robbed never even knew they had expectations in the first place. Being truly expectation-free offers impenetrable security. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Why would a person try, on purpose, for a goal more likely to bring failure than success? The short answer is because that person is extraordinary. Building muscles around rejection is a move that pays off. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). You keep picking up more skills. Today, it’s soft skills such as reading the room, guessing what another person is feeling and needing, and then finding that cool way to offer up just the thing that would make the difference. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Memories bubble up. You’ll learn by examining things in the past that didn’t go so well. Why now? Because this is the moment of optimum readiness. Everything needed for the processing is right here. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). As for psychic pain, it’s a symptom like any other. If the wound were healed, then you wouldn’t be hurting. This day comes with an emotional x-ray to show you exactly what the problem is. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Just know that if you reach, you’re going to be off-balance; the precariousness is just part of it. Seasoned reachers stay rooted in the ground, even as they open their arms, ready to receive. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Do you know your purpose with a person? Once you’ve nailed that, you can choose ahead of time what to focus on. When you do get the chance to connect, your connections will flow in the direction of your purpose. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). You will use positive words to describe yourself and your life because you really feel that way. Really feeling that way isn’t a function of being a positive person; it’s a function of having the discipline to focus on the positive. TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (March 20). Despite the times, your social swirl still manages to heat, fortify and fascinate you. Then, what a thrill when your work receives an acknowledgment from those you admire. But the best part is when you realize that you’ve evolved to a place where the quest is actually the prize. Creativity and purpose rule the show. Cancer and Leo adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 7, 12, 40, 4 & 13. Universal SUDOKU SOLUTIONS