PUZZLES Tuesday, March 23, 2021 Holding Periods by Zhougin Burnikel Universal Crossword edited by David Steinberg ACROSS 1 Expire, as a subscription 6 Some movie theaters 10 Animal that oinks 13 Portion out 14 Put on a pouty face 15 Raunchy writing 17 Miso and udon dishes 18 *Improvise (see letters 6 to 9 in this answer) 20 Get-together, casually 21 Where poodles are pampered 22 “Midsommar” director Aster 23 *Home in a tall building (7 to 12) 26 Arcade game pioneer 27 Precursor to rocksteady 28 Number that shares a key with @ 29 Problem 33 Poodle’s annoyance 37 *1979 Rod Stewart hit whose title is a question (1 to 3) 41 The “S” of GPS: Abbr. 42 Aetna competitor 43 Overtime cause 44 Hosp. surgical areas 47 Windshield hazard 49 *Shared characteristics (4 to 8) 55 80, for Dr. Fauci 56 Professional pursuit 57 Showroom model 60 Workplace respite, and a hint to the starred answers’ indicated letters 62 Consume completely 63 Rogen of “Steve Jobs” 64 Kept in the email loop 65 Like a fresh muffin 66 Retirement benefits org. 67 Egg farm mothers 68 Poker entry fees 31 College, in British slang 32 Heart test, briefly 34 “We need proof!” DOWN 35 Walk off the 1 Glasgow girl stage 2 Hand cream 36 Assent that additive sounds like a 3 Teddy bears, e.g. vowel 4 Bush of “One 38 Molecule Tree Hill” component 5 Mars rovers, 39 Conclude perhaps?: Abbr. through logic 6 According to 40 “Mary 7 Prefix meaning Magdalene” star “many” Rooney 8 School group 45 Loser to paper 9 Uses a certain 46 Grab video chat 48 Most likely to win program 49 Airport-to-hotel 10 K-pop star who transports rose to fame in 50 Folklore meanies 2012 51 Swim team 11 “To be clear ...” events 12 Watch over 52 Blink of an eye 16 The Chicks, e.g. 53 Macho sorts 19 Support with 54 Plants used in funds basketry 21 Engage in an 58 Creative online scam inspiration 24 Stick-to-itiveness 59 Goes (for) 25 Bumbling ones 61 “I figured it out!” 26 Out of town 62 Thurman of 28 Six-pt. plays “Gattaca” 30 (This wasn’t my error) The End Is the Beginning by Rebecca Goldstein Universal Crossword edited by David Steinberg ACROSS 1 Depilatory brand 5 “Surely you ___!” 9 Formal agreements 14 Present opening? 15 Region 16 Dole out 17 *Intergalactic makers’ studio? (hint: read each starred answer’s middle word twice) 20 Quick look 21 Runway display 22 New York NBA player 24 Played music at a club 26 Snowballs, in a snowball fight 27 Actress Rowlands 28 Moderate gait 29 Long-eared animals 30 *Retaliation for overdue wages? 33 Nonbinary possessive 34 Speech-language pathologist’s concerns 38 *Where Fred Flintstone goes to get away from it all? 43 ___-full 47 Eclipse, to some 48 Mineral deposits 49 Queue 50 Texter’s “Then again ...” 51 Bread for Swiss cheese? 52 Sandal feature 54 Chest press targets, informally 55 *Chardonnay served at a state dinner, say? 60 Network connections 61 Like some affordable textbooks 62 GPS calculations 63 Trains in the ring 64 Prepare for takeoff 65 Enlist again DOWN 1 Negative replies 2 What an electric guitar hooks up to 3 If all else fails 4 Puffed snack 5 Guy in a toy box? 6 Add wrong, perhaps 7 ___ shanty 8 Ball gown fabric 9 Word after “boarding” or “touchdown” 10 Pack leaders 11 Insurance cases 12 In store 13 Shorthand pros 18 Startled cry 19 Wee bit 22 Soviet spy org. 23 Tidy 24 Like some hard cider 25 “You had one ___!” 28 Skating gold medalist Lipinski 29 Similar (to) 31 Guitar strummer 32 Extended family 35 Hot day 36 2019 film that won Best Picture 37 “Frozen” reindeer 39 Replace, electorally 40 Dashboard Confessional genre 41 “I’m not impressed” 42 Upper-left key 43 Birthday party performers 44 Genre for Nicki Minaj 45 Upstate New York tribe 46 One often on the rebound? 50 “I’m impressed!” 51 Not many 53 Model Holliday 54 Toenail treatment, informally 56 Megan Rapinoe’s team 57 Kind of hormone 58 T, on a sorority sweatshirt 59 Sixth sense, for short East Oregonian A15 HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY MATHIS WEDNESDAY, MARCH 24, 2021 The Secret to This Lunar Obstacle Course Most people adopt their friend’s perspective on a conflict, a tendency that causes prejudice and thwarts the potential for the understanding that comes of balanced truth-seeking. Those who resist this tendency today will happily avoid the pitfalls of a badly aspected Uranus whilst thriving in the harmony of a double-trine Leo moon transit. ARIES (March 21-April 19). Orphans and strays will be attracted to you because wherever you go, whatever you do, you carry with you a strong sense of grounding. Being around you feels like home. TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Clicking around the internet, it’s easy to find 10 people doing the same thing as you. However, you don’t let that in any way discourage you. You can be sure that no one will bring it together in quite the manner as you will. GEMINI (May 21-June 21). You will take people to new places, either physically or figuratively, just by being the bold version of yourself who is curious, playful and magnetically drawn to novel territory. CANCER (June 22-July 22). Comfort actually undermines your work because you need people to be alert and on their toes, curious about what you’ll do next. Challenge people’s comfort to energize the scene. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Investigate before you try to fix a thing. Has it ever been fixed? Is a solution within the realm of possibility given the time frame? If it doesn’t have a solution, then it’s not a problem, just a state of things to accept and get used to. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You take pride in your ability to protect and reassure others, providing them with a sense of security that’s a rare and precious gift in this big, wild world. Whether they know and appreciate this is a story for another time. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). You want to know how everything works individually, and then how it works together, and how it works in perpetuity. But first, take the quick, concrete action to get it working, period. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). You’ll make exceptional findings but it is not currently necessary to tell anyone or even to marvel at the specialness. These are early stages, and this part of the unfolding is meant just for you. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). You’ve overcome obstacles, so give yourself credit for that. Going forward is easier when you remember who you are, recognize what you’ve done and believe in your ability to repeat success. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). You really don’t have to be certain of your outcome to be confident. The confidence doesn’t come from knowing you’ll succeed; it comes from knowing you’ll prevail either way and, likely, eventually, figure it out. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). You know when to strategically give your message in a whisper because people making an effort to lean in are more receptive listeners than people blown back by intensity and volume. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). What you’re doing is for a very specific and small audience – maybe that audience is just you for now – and that’s how you know it matters. Because if it raises you up, then it does the whole world a favor. TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (March 24). You will be guided by a spiritual alignment with assurances that hail from deep within you. This support, as ancient and strong as a gigantic redwood tree, will also seem to come from the outside. It’s coming from people with deep roots and entities of might and history, and the karma of an ancestral lineage. Pisces and Virgo adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 22, 12, 6, 38 and 40. Universal SUDOKU SOLUTIONS HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY MATHIS THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 2021 Emotional Cancer Moon In this age of artificial intelligence, there may come a day in which any task that can be automated will be. On this day of strong feelings, emotional bonds and interactions that reinforce our sense of belonging, we have the most fun with the sort of tasks and mental states that fall squarely into the domain of humanity, and it will never be otherwise. ARIES (March 21-April 19). Just as the light of the sun encourages the flowers to open up, people take your warmth as an invitation to share their stories, experiences and all the beauty inside to you. TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Your instincts, like knives, will be sharpened by scraping the hard, flinty surface of an interesting, immobile-seeming problem. This is the kind of invaluable training that can’t be bought. GEMINI (May 21-June 21). You don’t have a problem with biting off more than you can chew because you have the equivalent of utensils at your disposal. You have the tools to take a big chunk, and then cut it down the perfect manageable size. CANCER (June 22-July 22). There are those you know who seem averse to work and yet still come out ahead. You don’t mind working but observe the “lazy strategists” anyway to be sure you’re putting effort in where it’s necessary and will matter. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Often the line between adversary and ally is surprisingly fine. Conflict doesn’t an enemy make. Your team is stronger when you include people whose ideas conflict with yours. Diversify for might. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You’ve a creative way of explaining things, and people love to listen to the way you share what you know. Who else needs to know this? Your gift of teaching will augment your fortunes. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Don’t worry about pleasing others. They may think they know what they want. Yet, it’s something else entirely that will make them happy. You’re better off pleasing yourself and letting them catch up later. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Make your presentation smooth and glossy. Getting the extra shine will take about the same amount of time as it took to build the thing to the level of “pretty good,” but it will be worth it to attain that wow factor. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). You’re an excellent judge of character, so follow your sense about people to determine who will inspire you to stay on-task and in the optimal mood. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Some would say you are kind when you don’t have to be, but they don’t know your moral code commands kindness always. Of course, kindness comes in many forms, some unlikely. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Sometimes, the rocky road leads to a beautiful vantage, and sometimes it’s a hard road to nowhere. This is something to figure out before you embark. Consult the maps and the seasoned hikers. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Things can get better on their own, but perhaps not in the time frame you’d like them to. Besides, it’s more fun when you know you’ve had a hand in the improvement. TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (March 25). You’re inventive and will solve a problem that vexes many. In this regard, you’ll carve out a niche for yourself and get a golden ticket to a new realm. It’s not a one-shot opportunity though, so don’t be too quick to make a deal or be exclusive. Family successes make you proud, too. You’ll have plenty to celebrate together! Libra and Leo adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 5, 40, 1, 11 & 42. Universal SUDOKU SOLUTIONS