PUZZLES Thursday, June 3, 2021 Space Invaders by Abigail Doctor & Amanda Rafkin Universal Crossword edited by David Steinberg ACROSS 1 Pore-shrinking solution 6 Donate 10 Squid’s defense 13 Dish with a Denver variety 15 “Free Willy” marine mammal 16 Pro’s opposite 17 Pro-womxn works (see letters 7 to 10 in this answer) 19 Enjoyed pastrami 20 ___ Attack! (game with a card launcher) 21 Spanish small plates 22 Taylor-Joy of “The Queen’s Gambit” 23 Indian brides’ red garments 24 Broke down grammatically 26 Many include seat numbers (4 to 9) 30 Food chain link, maybe 31 Gouda, e.g. 32 Fried rice bit 33 Like all primes except 2 36 ‘90s music holders 37 Pup’s bark 40 Word before “algebra” or “thinking” 43 Forbidden act, to a tot 44 Starts operating secretly (4 to 6) 49 Stubbornly demand 50 Handed (out) 51 “West Side Story” gang 52 Prominent part of a pig 53 ___ Lanka 56 Mathematician Lovelace 57 Levies that Nevada and Alaska lack (3 to 7) 60 Rebellion leader Turner 61 Chai and oolong 62 Do volunteer Lab work? 63 Pupil’s place 64 Not all 65 Fresh haircut DOWN 1 Meat substitute 2 It’s a sign 3 Lost fish of film 4 Roth of horror 5 Airbnb offering 6 “You busy?” 7 401(k) alternatives 8 Device used to tape “The Golden Girls,” once 9 ___ crow (lose face) 10 “That’s a bad hiding spot!” 11 “Hold your horses” 12 Massages 14 Sparkly crown 18 Rotate like a dreidel 22 Torah holders 23 Black Widow, for one 24 Threw a creamy dessert at 25 Misses nothing on 26 Her or Grindr 27 Rage 28 Home work? 29 Active ingredient in edibles, briefly 33 Burden 34 Ding on a car 35 Either parent in certain families 38 Cozy stopover 39 Escape vehicle in sci-fi 41 Egyptian goddess of fertility 42 Rudolph’s claim to fame 43 Agree silently 44 Military role for which Demi Moore shaved her head 45 “Eventually” 46 Area on a Clue board 47 Used Elmer’s 48 Gymnastics icon Mary Lou 52 Swindler’s scheme 53 Austin festival, informally 54 Joy of MSNBC 55 :, in an analogy 57 “___ a long story” 58 Prefix with “natal” 59 What is “just a number” Two Times Two by Jessica Zetzman Universal Crossword edited by David Steinberg ACROSS 1 Things that may be jam-packed? [#UniversalXwordPride] 5 Secret supply 10 Gem prized in China 14 Toddler’s reaction to an oopsie 15 Try, as beer 16 Ready for customers 17 Values in a set 18 Place to exchange vows 19 Provide temporarily 20 *”Help me, ___. You’re my only hope.” (Leia) 23 Iguana, for instance 24 “I’ve got this” 28 Decompose 31 D.C. MLB player 32 Pop star known for her wigs 34 Towing org. 35 Lacking skill 37 *Gradually 39 Boring 40 You could have many in the “fire” 42 “Legally Blonde” protagonist Woods 43 45 46 47 48 50 51 53 56 61 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 *Korean rice bowl Guide ___ pinch Parisian pal Airport safety org. Alcohol-free Sara’s partner in indie pop Largest hot desert *What’s celebrated on September 23 to prevent an identity’s erasure, or a hint to the pair of prefixes in each starred answer Just Active starter? Operatic solo Employs Impulse transmitter Perseverance rover’s location Suitcase labels Some native Nebraskans Largest digits in binary DOWN 1 Japanese martial art 2 “Moby-Dick” captain 3 Indianflatbread 4 Cardigan collar style 5 Poet’s subsection 6 Mansplain, e.g. 7 Fall bloomer 8 Doubles (for) 9 Any frontline worker 10 Angelina of “Gia” 11 Monkey’s relative 12 Bear home 13 One might be split or bitter 21 “___ that somethin’?” 22 Spill the beans 25 Saved for a future meeting 26 Junk pamphlet 27 Place to grab a bite 28 Frog sound 29 Browsing memes, say 30 Steeped pouch 33 Every dog has ___ day 36 Letter before chi 37 Conk on the noggin 38 “And” or “not” follower 40 Tech company nicknamed Big Blue 41 Chocolaty morsel at the movies 44 Fingernail treatment, for short 45 Garment often worn with a choli 48 Steal 49 Buffalo hockey team 52 Vast void 54 Commercial prefix for “Turf” 55 “Remember the ___!” 57 Glassful in Roma 58 Persia, today 59 Grow bored (of) 60 “___ queen!” 61 Not in the closet 62 Intel-gathering grp. 63 Part of a journey East Oregonian A13 HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY MATHIS FRIDAY, JUNE 4, 2021 Cosmic Color Wheel Color is a manifestation of light, a reflection that could even be called a rejection, as the thing reflected back is the color that the thing is not. At a scientific level, color is an indicator of its opposite. Mars and Pluto move into an opposition that throws emotional colors our way. Look for the sadness in reaching out, the happiness in letting go. ARIES (March 21-April 19). You appreciate the people who tune into you without making you work for it. You don’t have to raise your voice to be heard. It is with soft insistence that you make your point or get your way. TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You’ll take notice of those who seem to be misreading reality. They likely have a personal motive for doing so, but who doesn’t? That’s the thing about reality – everyone gets to have one. GEMINI (May 21-June 21). As infinite as your soul may be, you’ve plenty of internal resources that are as exhaustible as any external resource. Come from a soulful place and avoid depletion. CANCER (June 22-July 22). Often, from inside a dream, you don’t realize that you’re dreaming until you start coming out of the thing. At that point, you can see the available option of waking up. Today brings a similar dynamic. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Maybe you didn’t plan it just right, or maybe you left just the opening that destiny needed to stick a hand in. So waste no time in worry. Use what you have then back off and accept the assist. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). The marketplace will take whatever money you have to throw at it. If you want to fix the problem for $10, you can. If you want to fix it for $10,000, you can. Get informed. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Stories don’t last if they are not told and retold. So don’t worry about whether you said it before, especially if it’s part of your family heritage. Say it again. You learn and share something a little different every time. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). You will be remarkably versatile in your approach to love. You can be intellectual about it, imaginative, intuitive or kinesthetic, reading all you need to know in the language of gestures and movements. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). You don’t have to have the same taste as someone to appreciate your connection. You’ll experience things together, each with a takeaway that is different from and enhanced by the other. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). You don’t think about it much, nor do you walk around feeling any different from anyone else. And yet, your unique past has made you stronger. You continue to draw strength and ideas from what you learned back there. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). It could be considered a stretch to put today’s task in the category of “fun,” but it’s the sort of job that is easier to do than avoid. Also, being the one who handles things without hesitation or complaint makes you awesome. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). You prefer to surround yourself with items that have use and meaning to you; otherwise, it’s more to organize with very little reward for doing so. What story do your material possessions tell about you? TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (June 4). You make unorthodox choices with results so interesting you’ll talk and teach on the subject of your own unconventionality. But now, it’s about figuring out how things fit together as well as finding and cherishing the people who help you make it work. Success springs from your light, flexible and experimental approach. Libra and Leo adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 8, 40, 6, 13 and 22. Universal SUDOKU SOLUTIONS HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY MATHIS SATURDAY, JUNE 5, 2021 Schooled by Cosmic Opposition The thing that many people like about school is the quantifiable challenge of well-defined assignments in which the route to an excellent score is made quite clear. Life seldom provides such obvious guidelines, but it will today. Mars and Pluto pull apart to present a timeframe while Mercury and Neptune lay out the rubric. ARIES (March 21-April 19). Media encourages all to privately rate, approve or disapprove of what we see. It’s an unattractive practice that takes us out of our own lives to deal in the business of others. It’s far more charismatic to tend to your own realm. TAURUS (April 20-May 20). It’s better to get into a small chunk of a project than bite into one you won’t be able to finish in a day. Also, in light of the Mercury situation, you’re wise to leave wide large margins for human error. GEMINI (May 21-June 21). What matters to you may not be important to the others... yet. While you wait for things to come around, focus on what the group is currently about, and find your place in that. CANCER (June 22-July 22). Excellent taste is not always the easiest thing to have. The rest of the world so rarely complies. Today will be the exception. You’ll have much to feast your senses on. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Clean up and you’ll get back what you thought you’d lost and what you’d totally forgotten about as well. Other found items will prevent you from unnecessary future purchases. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). There is this hum, too low to be audible, and yet you sense it in the background. It’s what the composer calls a “pad” that glues the other tones together, lending reassurances and a soft place to land. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). True power is not given; it is earned. And because truly powerful people have earned their status, they have spent time at every level and can access any as though with a dial, turning their current up or down to suit the situation. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). You will invite people to support you, but this is not an open invitation. To ask everyone would be taking away from those who really need what you do. Small groups will be lucky for you. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Use your feelings. Push your senses into a situation and you’ll notice they can travel further into a sense of knowing than your thoughts and questions can get you. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Your mind is calm, your heart full. This allows for your inner grace, almost supernatural in its depth, to show itself in the kindest consideration for the feelings and reactions of others. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Leaving things as they are isn’t so easy. To alter the course of things, all you have to do is be there. But this principle works in your favor, too. All you have to do to make a difference is show up. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). You really don’t know what criteria another person is using to make a decision, and no light on the matter will come through what the person says either, as people don’t even know themselves why they do the things they do. TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (June 5). The Mars and Pluto opposition on your solar return signifies enormous good fortune to come from embracing the polarities inside you. You will progress in strength, and also in weakness. Knowledge will be balanced by humility, power by mercy. Your wishes, including the goodness you want for others, will come quickly to hand. Cancer and Capricorn adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 7, 32, 9, 19 and 5. Universal SUDOKU SOLUTIONS