PUZZLES Tuesday, November 30, 2021 Inside Job by Paul Coulter Universal Crossword edited by David Steinberg ACROSS 1 Succotash ingredient 5 Small mattress size 9 Touch with a stylus 12 Codeine source 14 Pie cuts, essentially 16 Add years to one’s life 17 Where to find a snake in the glass (In this clue’s answer, see letters 4-8) 19 Oui’s opposite 20 Exist 21 Word before “cucumber” or “salt” 22 One has a maturity date 24 Desperate attempt (... letters 8-11) 30 Eyelid concern 31 “___-hoo!” 32 Bottom of the ocean 33 E or G, e.g. 35 Jean-___ Picard of “Star Trek” 37 Mr. Rogers 38 Choice when paying with a card (... letters 3-8) 43 ___ Paulo 44 Criticize harshly 45 Wintry, in product names 46 Sarcastic commentary 49 Name that’s a cozy room backward 51 London streetcar 54 They help you get the big picture (... letters 3-6) 58 Food sticker? 59 “Wheels” 60 Season opener? 61 John in court cases 63 Fragrant grain (... letters 4-8) 67 Wikipedia is free of them 68 Made angry 69 Didn’t chicken out 70 “$20 on red,” say, in roulette 71 Fill completely 72 Pronoun on a certain towel DOWN 1 Reef material 2 Divas’ productions 3 Most ready to pick 4 Crunchy source of protein 5 Pact 6 Card game for two 7 Vow at the altar 8 Weeper of myth 9 Indian cooking style named for an oven 10 Earlier 11 Notetaker’s choice 13 Something wrong 15 “See ya!” 18 Necklace that wraps around “Leah Remini” 23 Super Bowl org. 25 Small child 26 Silver eagle wearer, in the military 27 Two to three, for one 28 Turnip or beet 29 “Don’t give up!” 34 Sharp bark 36 Songs can be burned onto them 38 Kid’s plea 39 Exam that often includes parallel parking 40 Sharp flavor 41 Typed in 42 Delivered from the womb 43 Opposite NNE 47 Big name in hiking gear 48 Japanese writing system 50 Choose 52 Aim ambitiously 53 “Moon River” lyricist Johnny 55 Approaches 56 PC linkup 57 Tournament’s top competitors, often 61 Apply gently 62 Homage in verse 64 Genre for The Wailers 65 Bumped into 66 “Go team!” What Are the Odds? by Alex Eaton-Salners Universal Crossword edited by David Steinberg ACROSS 1 Ilhan in the House 5 Lacking 9 Prada products 13 Zippo 14 Nail the midterm 16 Alphabetically last four-letter state 17 Friendly talk 18 L, on a shirt tag 19 Foal’s father 20 Linearity, literally? 23 Traffic control grp.? 24 Muscat’s country 25 Family that Goldilocks annoyed, literally? 33 Off-road transport, briefly 34 Nighttime bugle call 35 Dispatched, as a giant 36 Decorative pillow cover 38 Mature like a plum 41 Filleted flatfish 42 ___ and shine 4 Like “It” but not “Big” 5 Where to go for a dip? 6 Brazilian berry 7 Emperor who watched Rome burn 8 Mister, in Italian 9 Word with “funny” or “monkey” 10 Working hard 11 Coleman of “Diff’rent Strokes” 12 Pronoun for Maya Angelou 15 San Jose Sharks and New York Jets 21 Baby sparrow’s home 22 Titration setting 25 City whose name aptly anagrams to “Arabs” 26 Work ___ (employee’s principle) DOWN 27 Pirate’s “Stop!” 1 How some 28 ___Pen software is stored 29 Wobbly dish 2 When repeated, a 30 Hello, in Honolulu Hawaiian fish 31 Archaeological 3 He lived in Eden find 43 Doesn’t get badly injured 45 Pocket place 46 Like every Shakespeare play, literally? 51 Cosmologist Sagan 52 “Silly me!” 53 Soda with a lemon-lime flavor, literally? 60 Spoken 61 Paint-and-sip class fixture 62 Stereo alternative 63 Slender stinger 64 Pine, e.g., for air freshener 65 Be an omen of 66 “Let It Go” singer in “Frozen” 67 Partner of “crafts” 68 Mail opening 32 Maneuvered a curling broom 37 “My bad,” formally 39 Dec. hours in Boston 40 Words on a treehouse door, perhaps 44 Single-serving coffee pod 47 Place to stick a feather 48 Aligns 49 Llama’s relative 50 Digits to wrestle 53 Russian range or river 54 “Hard ___!” (“That’s a big no!”) 55 App downloader 56 Cooped (up) 57 Where to go for a dip 58 Cancel, as a command 59 One may write an ode 60 Middle of IOU East Oregonian A17 HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY MATHIS WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2021 Neptune Goes Direct Most regrets have at their root a bad decision. To minimize our regrets, we can maximize our good decisions. Of course, if we knew the right choice in the moment, we would make it every time. The key is to give ourselves the best shot at knowing, to do what it takes to have a clear head. The turn of Neptune blows the fog away. ARIES (March 21-April 19). Your mastery of a skill depends on accurate feedback. Which opinion is correct? Gather them all, but don’t act on any yet. Time will shake things out and sort them for you. By the end of the week, only the truth will remain. TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You are brave, persistent and focused on the right thing for you and yours. The courage of your convictions is a powerfully attractive force, and by the end of the week, you’ll find you have allies. GEMINI (May 21-June 21). You have your hand on the dial of your own intensity. You can take any emotion you feel and turn it up or down as needed. Combine this talent with your ability to read the room and you’re unstoppable. CANCER (June 22-July 22). Yes, something has slipped out of your grip and now you long to have and hold it. The good news is this is lost but not gone. It will, however, take work to get it back. Extend your reach. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Don’t wait until you need something badly or are frustrated, angry or anxious to move yourself into a better state of mind. However you feel, raise it. Why shouldn’t you live in an optimum, powerful state of mind? VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). On your mind will be matters of citizenship, fairness and leadership. You’ve a gut instinct for what’s right, but it’s still important to process the facts with an open mind because the lesson is in an integration of gut and intellect. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Obtain what’s necessary to move forward. This is probably a skill or tool. Success depends on a belief. Try this one on for size: It was always meant to be yours; you just have to claim it. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). The Chinese proverb says, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” But it’s not until step 233 that you begin to feel like you’re really going somewhere. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). All of the things that money can’t buy -- love, respect, profound glamour, real connection -- require complex kinds of work. To imagine, plot and execute your plans will feel like play. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Two objects cannot occupy the same space at the same time, but oh, how the objects will keep trying! The spirit of competition and the inevitability of collision keeps it interesting in a highly charged atmosphere. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). There’s a certain part of your life that’s not a pretty picture. Consider that it may not be the picture’s fault. Maybe it’s the frame. Framing it differently will change your view entirely. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Get clear about what you want. Ranking your options in order of desirability, from your top-tier arrangement to your bottom-line necessities, will bring good fortune to your realm. TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Dec. 1). What you do you will do with style. Instead of requiring more money, time and effort, you’ll use less. The specific decisions that are so you are bolder than they are expensive. You have a full heart, and love in many forms flows through 2022. It will be impossible to be too generous in this regard as giving amplifies your resources. Cancer and Gemini adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 8, 2, 22, 19 and 40. Universal SUDOKU SOLUTIONS HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY MATHIS THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2021 Seduction Moon There’s a reason for the magnetism of seductive characters. They speak to the voids in us. If we weren’t lacking in some way, they would have nothing to hook onto. So, there is something for you in the seduction. The question becomes whether the seducer will really deliver it. This message was brought to you by the moon in seductive Scorpio. ARIES (March 21-April 19). Breathe easy, take frequent breaks from your work and get plenty of sleep and exercise. Make your own pleasure and well-being a higher priority. TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Competition for a certain spot will be stiff. Just because you have what it takes doesn’t mean it’s worth the trouble. Think more about what you want and how well the current offerings really fit the bill. GEMINI (May 21-June 21). It seems like everyone needs you at once, and maybe that’s part of the deal when you’re good at what you do. Keep in mind that you have the choice of when to respond. Other people’s urgency doesn’t have to be yours. CANCER (June 22-July 22). Your memory will be strong and undiscerning, recalling important and useless facts alike. But the thing is, you won’t know which is which, so revel in it all. Sometimes the slightest detail is the key to everything. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). If you need another reason to get out and socialize, consider that you’ll see yourself objectively as someone else experiences you for the first time. Valuable insights will be gained from your interactions. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). There are those who think they are good at something regardless of how good they actually are. Don’t let yourself be bamboozled by overconfidence. Ask for proof of skill. Getting the right person for the job is a game changer. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). You have the freedom to believe as you wish and openly express it. This is a freedom people have fought and died for and you don’t take it for granted, even as you exercise the opposite right to keep things to yourself. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Your attempts to rearrange your world seem futile because they are. These moves and inquiries won’t eliminate suffering, only transmute it. The way to eliminate the problem is to greet the moment and accept it exactly how it is. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Stories can be like hot meals that cool off as soon as they’re served. Timing is everything. Knowing what to trim is key. It’s worth working out before you tell it because your stories reflect you. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). One theory is that money buys you the freedom to arrange life to your preferences. In practice it will not be so. The more you can do with creativity and strategy the better, as money will complicate things beyond belief. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). You can handle any nonemotional truth on its face. You can work with any fact and deal with stark realities. It’s when feelings get involved that the difficulties arise. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). In determinate games, the starting player can always win with the right strategy. In indeterminate games, two perfect players could play on forever. You will play with elegance in an indeterminate game, for instance, love. TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Dec. 2). When you’re not so sure what’s in your mind and heart, your feet will know. They’ll take you out the door and straight to the hidden goals of your soul. Trust yourself! The new year brings clarity, peace, adventure, success and love. A lucky streak starts with the exchange of property or a significant sale. Aquarius and Taurus adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 4, 2, 22, 29 and 48. Universal SUDOKU SOLUTIONS