PUZZLES Thursday, September 16, 2021 Wet Paint by Paul Coulter Universal Crossword edited by David Steinberg ACROSS 1 Common fast- food side order 6 So far 11 Backstabber 14 Middle meal 15 Montoya in “The Princess Bride” 16 “A likely story!” 17 Inedible fruit that surprisingly isn’t a citrus 19 Anger 20 Cleopatra’s snake 21 Bit of aerobic exercise 22 Up-and-coming whiz 24 “Let’s see you do better!” 26 Split, like a hoof 27 “For ___ a Jolly Good Fellow” 28 Former legal drama that starred Susan Dey 29 Howled 32 Metaphor for a potential crisis 35 Extol 36 Line with triangles, on a weather map 38 Before long, to a poet 39 Become established 41 The way things are going 42 Track shapes 43 Big name in outdoor gear 44 New York NBA team 45 Candor 49 Pooh’s pink pal 50 Monotonous routines 51 One may be short-sleeved 52 John, in England 53 Contents of some palettes ... or what 17-Across, 11-Down and 31- Down could be, given that their starts are rivers? 56 Bird that hoots 57 High up 58 Not throw away, say 59 Person celebrated in June 60 Abominable snowmen 61 Construction spots DOWN 1 Ice-cream treat served with a straw 2 Rene of “Ransom” 3 Like “Candy Crush” purchases 4 Heart record, for short 5 Relative of a man cave 6 Buenos ___ 7 Lose your temper 8 Yang’s counterpart 9 Baba ghanoush ingredient 10 Initial bit of progress 11 Drink such as liebfraumilch 12 Composer Copland 13 Not us 18 Elevator pioneer 23 Saint of Hollywood 25 Lucifer 26 Extended family 29 Its first letter doesn’t stand for “bread” 30 Battery size 31 Potato variety developed in Canada 32 You may bid or build on it 33 Oui’s opposite 34 No ___ in sight 36 “Pecos Bill” or “Paul Bunyan” 37 “Friends” character with a Ph.D. 40 Saratoga or Daytona 41 Stretching muscles 43 Campus military org. 44 Southern Plains native 45 What the truth does, per Lizzo 46 “I’m a little teapot/ Short and ___” 47 Brusque 48 Affirmatives 49 Trudge 50 Mortgage change, for short 54 Pampered one? 55 Fragrant neckwear Matching Pairs by Alex Eaton-Salners Universal Crossword edited by David Steinberg ACROSS 1 “Ditto” 6 Monitor for TV? 9 Persuasive assignment 14 Company in a 2001 fraud scandal 15 Evian, par exemple 16 Hot, frothy drink 17 *Leslie Odom Jr.’s Tony-winning “Hamilton” role 19 Goryeo Dynasty’s land, once 20 Roofer’s supply 21 Deviate from the script 23 Popular site for a stud 24 Latin epic poem 26 *Marine plant that grows in beds 29 Word after “jet” or “time” 30 Paleo’s opposite 32 “___ the way you think” 33 Soft lock 35 Places for sweaters? 38 Like some tape ... and each starred clue’s answer, based on its first and last two letters? 41 They may have creaky boards 42 Stonehenge worshipper 45 Mandolin’s kin 47 Regret 49 Earth-friendly prefix 50 *Rib cook-off need 53 Some weight lifters 55 Devour 56 Ivory and Irish Spring products 58 ___ Peter to pay Paul 59 Activist Thunberg 62 *License to drill? 65 Fire-setting crime 66 Ernie of golf 67 Exposed as a fraud, e.g. 68 Waiting in the wings, perhaps 69 Actor’s workplace 70 Jawaharlal in Indian history DOWN 1 ___ otter 2 Experiencing great success 3 Like some marriages 4 “G.I. Jane” star Demi 5 Cozy stopover 6 Prolonged quarrel 7 “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” author Eric 8 Marie who was the first winner of two Nobel Prizes 9 Grand Teton beast 10 ___ Tome and Principe 11 Run out of pants? 12 “Relax,” to a drill instructor 13 Many moons 18 Said, as a farewell 22 Russian pancakes 24 PC key that modifies other keys’ functions 25 Narrow-minded 27 Comparatively pleased 28 Choir platform 31 Nobel Peace Center’s home 34 First sound in “Georgia” 36 ___ Lingus (Irish carrier) 37 Cold War initials 39 Yeltsin of the 37- Down 40 Straight up? 43 Brew that’s frozen during production 44 Cinco menos tres 45 Pizza Hut competitor 46 Exam for an aspiring Mensan 48 Sch. in La Jolla 50 Started 51 Gold deposits, perhaps 52 Big spoon, of a sort 54 Have a dispute 57 Vowelless summons 60 Excessively 61 ___ Arbor 63 Many, many moons 64 End of Brown’s URL East Oregonian A15 HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY MATHIS FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 Aspects of Warmth Ask the yoga instructor at the hot yoga studio, the dragonfly sunning on a rock and the partygoers around the bonfire: Warmth changes things. It can make us move through life with more fluidity, bring us to a more energized physicality or draw us together. Today’s heat source will be the friction of Venus and Saturn. ARIES (March 21-April 19). You’ll be given plenty of leeway to do what you want with a project. However, it will benefit you to ask for input from many and work in conjunction with a team, getting overall approval before you begin the work. TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You will be as lucky as you are daring. Find out what happens when you take an uninteresting aspect of your day and push it a little further, and a little further, until the action moves into a territory of absurdity. GEMINI (May 21-June 21). It’s good that this fond wish of yours doesn’t come true right away. The anticipation is part of what makes an outcome wonderful. And besides, the journey is where all the learning happens. CANCER (June 22-July 22). Sometimes, your nurturing ways allow others to relax enough to grow into the next move. But nurturing isn’t always warm and soft. Today, your care may have a tougher side. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). First comes a realization; then comes your plan. To make a plan before you recognize the true nature of things would be to plan in vain. You cannot force your knowledge, but you can observe well, holding a space for all to come together. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). The cosmic gift of the day will come wrapped in humor. Whether you laugh silently to yourself or raucously with friends, you’ll be healed by the body shake a joke can make. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Oddly enough, knowing too much about a problem could inhibit you from seeing the solution. Children and newbies may have a more helpful take on it than those mired in the issues. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). You can’t change the past, but you can change the backstory. Challenge yourself to see things a little differently than you did yesterday. Find the spin that makes you more excited about who you are right now. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Although there may be no tangible prize for the endeavor you now spend so much of your life on, there are rewards to be had here, tangible or abstract, overt or implied. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). You’re adaptable, with a wide social vocabulary to draw from. If you have to change your communication style to get the message across, you will. Understanding your listener is key. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). In certain tribes where bravery is more prestigious than anything that can be bought, scars are status symbols. You have emotional scars no one knows about. Would you consider wearing one with pride? PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). If there is pressure to do things right, either get the most qualified person for the job or find a way to eliminate that pressure. The spirit of innovation cannot thrive where people are afraid to fail. TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Sept. 17). You’ll make this new era beautiful. Once you start the work, you’ll get plenty of help, so take initiative, and execute your impulses with gusto. Assemble a posse; make good on the strength in numbers. By losing some individualism, you gain access to more than you thought possible. Lessons will be worth the price. Scorpio and Aquarius adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 2, 22,10, 3 and 29.you. Your lucky numbers are: 7, 15, 4, 44 and 39. Universal SUDOKU SOLUTIONS HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY MATHIS SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2021 Memory-Making Moon Like a party animal at the end of the night, the moon gets up to quite a ruckus on the journey from Aquarius to Pisces. Mercury, Jupiter and the sun each receive the lunar attention, swelling the noise and pushing their social agenda to the point of maximum interactions. Friends and memories will be made. ARIES (March 21-April 19). You accept responsibility for the way things unfold in your life. Even when you didn’t cause events, you look at how you might have influenced or allowed them to happen. TAURUS (April 20-May 20). “All’s fair in love” they say, but how could it possibly be? Even if it’s (SET ITAL) mostly(END ITAL) fair in love, civility still goes a long way. You can override bad form with good manners. GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Do what it takes to bolster your self-esteem. It would be a shame to reject the abundance of this day out of a feeling of unworthiness. You’re deserving of all this love and more. CANCER (June 22-July 22). You’re open-minded, intellectually flexible and willing to question your ideology. Consider that whatever you believe, the opposite belief could also be true. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Leave strategizing the end game to the chess masters. It’s a projection that won’t help you too much now. The problem with the next moment is that you can’t live it, so stay in this one -- the only one you have real power in. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). As the sign that rules natural growth, you’re patient with the time it takes to develop. There are those who seem to plant the seed in the ground and then dig it up every few hours to see how it’s doing. Teach them. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). A special relationship demands heart and soul. Your willingness to be uncomfortable is, at the end of the day, what makes the commitment heroic. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Clear communication is a cornerstone of respectful interactions. The problem is we all communicate differently. Be patient and receptive. It helps to lead with a belief that others are well-intended. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Since it is unkind to tempt the weak or push painfully into tender spots, you’re careful to learn more about people before you get too forward with your playfulness. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). There’s a thread running through this pattern. You may get glimpses of it, or perhaps you won’t see it at all right now, but stay open and aware. Later, you’ll be able to follow it, and all will make sense. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Do you really know when you’re satisfied? A storm of thoughts and feelings could interfere with the signal. The voice of satisfaction can be so mild. Instead of trying to hear through noise, get calm. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Getting intimate knowledge of a tool is not really high on your list of fun things to take on. You’d rather focus on the job itself! And yet, taking the time to master your tools now will ultimately save you time. TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Sept. 18). These are the days of wonder, of tender loving care, of sweet arrivals. Your ever-evolving sense of humor will have you sailing through a tricky dynamic. The togetherness of your growing family will be a source of soul fortification. It will be extraordinarily lucky to make a hobby, talent or interest a higher priority. Capricorn and Gemini adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 10, 4, 44, 13 and 5. Universal SUDOKU SOLUTIONS