PUZZLES
Tuesday, December 7, 2021
Choice Words by Lewis Rothlein
Universal Crossword edited by David Steinberg
ACROSS
1 With 24-Across,
newspapers and
such
5 Be sick
8 Has faith in
14 Deal prerequisite,
in poker
15 It’s hidden in
“tooth and nail”
16 Majestic bird’s
baby
17 Choice of hair
terms?
19 Comfortable
(with)
20 Brick in some
Santa Fe houses
21 Other than that
23 Typist’s stat
24 See 1-Across
25 High-pitched
woodwind
26 Navy noncom
27 Choice of
produce section
terms?
31 Acronym on a
poolside bottle
34 Total up
35 Chocolate tree
36 Old-timey
messengers
39 Becomes an
expert in
41 State Farm ___
(Atlanta Hawks’
venue)
42 Slump
43 Turn blond, say
44 Choice of sailing
terms?
49 Acer Aspire 5 and
others
50 He was jealous of
Abel
51 Sit tight for
55 “That feels nice!”
56 Crooked
57 African capital
dubbed the
“Hollywood of the
Middle East”
58 Body of water
parted in the
Bible
60 Choice of pro
wrestling terms?
63 Gotten outof bed
64 Dublin’s republic:
Abbr.
65 Dole (out)
66 Urban diversion?
67 Four-legged
friend’s foot
68 Pomegranate
morsel
DOWN
1 Title whose “d”
can also be an
apostrophe
2 A current flows
through it
3 Got to one’s feet
4 Novak Djokovic’s
homeland
5 Tumult
6 Business
magazine
7 Erie’s bottom, e.g.
8 Magazine cover,
essentially
9 Give a 10/10, say
10 Cry of disgust
11 Leisurely
12 Opposite of
“permanent”
13 It may bear fruit
18 “Quantum”
change
22 Flat can?
25 Alero automaker,
briefly
26 Conversation in a
dating app
28 Enhance, as a
resume
29 Some duplicate
letters, in two
ways
30 Aspirin amount
31 Suffragist Anna
Howard ___
32 Outer edge
33 Beef sandwich
served au jus
37 Common
connecting words
38 ___ Palmas,
Spain
39 See 52-Down
40 Before the
present
42 It may include
gondola rides
45 They produce
much of Earth’s
oxygen
46 Was published
47 Soft or crunchy
Mexican food
48 Groups in hives
52 With 39-Down,
“Save Me” singer
53 Like The Hulk
54 Carried around
55 ___ League
(Qatar’s group)
56 Individuals in
hives
59 9-digit ID source
61 Presidential
period, perhaps
62 Not a lot
Have a B-last! by Christina Iverson
Universal Crossword edited by David Steinberg
ACROSS
1 They’re above
abs
5 Event with deep-
fried food
9 Dishonest person
14 Sentry’s order
15 Gladys Knight’s
range
16 Spew lava
17 Ideal piece of
pasta, e.g.,
informally?
19 Gets together
20 “Seriously!”
21 Thing for walking
the dog?
23 Type of sauce in
teriyaki dishes
24 Tickled doll
26 Skirts with a
pancake variety
28 Query
31 “I’ve never heard
that song sung
in two keys
simultaneously,”
for one?
35 Bit of kindling
37 Ready
38 Switch topics
39 Thing to keep
your eye on
40 “Bear” related to
a wombat
43 Go on a tirade
44 One with many
world views?
46 ___ the
groundwork
47 Confessional
confessions
48 Complicated
network of
relationships
at Buckingham
Palace?
52 BOS rival, in
baseball
53 Postpone
54 “Table” or “sea”
follower
56 Do something
58 Strongly against
60 Lift
63 Prickly plant
65 “My life has been
reduced to these
few sentences on
a dust jacket!”?
68 Feature of
70-Across’s clue
69 Male deer
70 Peter, Paul and
Marry, for one
71 Project details,
briefly
72 Feature of
70-Across’s clue
73 Tidbit of vanilla
DOWN
1 Tammy
Duckworth’s deg.
2 Bring in, as
money
3 Activist and poet
Wade
4 Not fresh
5 One might have a
nose wire
6 Apple pie ___
mode
7 Modest response
to praise
8 “Mr. ___” (Styx
song)
9 Show stoppers?
10 Mine cart cargo
11 “Nope, try once
more”
12 No more than
13 Site for
handmade goods
18 Breast ___ (baby-
feeding option)
22 Loud laugh sound
25 Cookie that can
be personalized
27 Lyft alternatives
28 Chance to hit
29 Mowed path
30 Did a crossword
in the waiting
room, say
32 Even a little
33 Like eggs over
easy
34 “Heavens to ___!”
36 What polarized
lenses reduce
41 What bills might
become
42 12 months before
now
45 To the extent that
49 Longing
50 One who creates
51 Chatter
indiscreetly
55 Charges, as at
windmills
56 Alphabet
57 Corn or barley
59 Wee, cutesily
61 Certain
62 Lake by Toledo
64 Theater chain
66 Tree’s “blood”
67 Weightlifter’s
pride, briefly
East Oregonian
A15
HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY MATHIS
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2021 How to Avoid the Mars, Jupiter Trouble
Thoughts are soft as clouds floating by, impermanent
as bubbles that rise, float and burst. Like waves, they
cannot be caught or held. Thoughts are not facts. Mars
and Jupiter square off, and the tendency to exaggerate
or catastrophize is problematic. Don’t believe everything
you think. Let thoughts inform the moment, not define it.
ARIES (March 21-April 19). There’s noise in your
head that’s too cacophonous to sort. You’ll do better to
listen for the silence around it. Eventually, everything
organizes around your own pulse, the beat that connects
you to all of life.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). As for those things you
feel you must or mustn’t do, though you really don’t know
why, your obedience won’t apply to today’s little puzzle.
To work this one out, you will have to forget there were
ever any rules.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). No one is born knowing
everything. You’ll glimpse a gap in your knowledge.
There’s no shame in ignorance -- only in pretending to
know. That is what keeps people from learning.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). The hours with people
you do not enjoy can be like long, weary roads that lead
to the wrong place. Since you can’t always choose your
company, you like to exercise exciting options when the
choice is yours to make.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). This scene you’re a part of
exists in a state of tenuous balance. You’ve an urge to test
things to understand what’s important and how it works.
Remove every element one by one to see what is lost or
gained.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). If there’s no such thing as
perfection, then why does today’s peaceful, easy feeling
seem like it just may have all the qualities of pristine
goodness? The only flaw will be that it doesn’t go on
forever.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). You need someone to
agree to your plan, or to choose you over the others.
A direct approach won’t work. The game you’re playing
requires a subtle strategy. Employ principles of attraction.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). You don’t yet know
enough to make your next move, and to complicate
matters further, not everything you’re told is the truth.
Instead of voicing your doubts or challenging people,
keep observing.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Meditations
and mantras that focus on detaching from unhelpful or
stressful situations, thoughts and patterns will be helpful.
Deep breaths and the simple mantra, “Let it go,” will do
wonders.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). People want what
they can’t have. Do you think it’s mean to offer a reason
for someone to reach out and then pull it away, causing
them to grab at space? Maybe. Or maybe setting up such
a game is a kindness -- a gift.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). As for the things
that make your life full and interesting: If you didn’t have
them, you’d pay a lot to acquire them. In fact, you already
have. Don’t let the newness wear off. Enjoy it like it’s your
first time.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). What was once exciting
can be, in another season, quite taxing. Familiarity can
ease the way or complicate everything. Tension will make
or break an endeavor. You’ll dance between polarizations
and delight in ironies.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Dec. 8). You give the love
you want to receive, thus modeling with magnetism and
attracting just your brand of attention and affection. In
the end, your triumphs are celebrated. What you care
about is supported, and people will go out of their way to
accommodate your wishes or just spend time with you.
Cancer and Scorpio adore you. Your lucky numbers are:
3, 10, 33, 1 and 38.
Universal SUDOKU
SOLUTIONS
HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY MATHIS
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2021 Meaning and the Moon
Humans are always gathering meaning from things, so it’s
easy for us and we’re excellent at it. This is why it’s more
fun when the meaning demands to be assembled, assumed,
reduced, extracted or made up. Figuring out what it all means
will be the game of the day, and the Pisces moon helps us
play it with great sensitivity and imagination.
ARIES (March 21-April 19). To execute your task with
great style, it helps to get rid of every unnecessary element.
Think of each addition as optional until it is proven essential.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You can’t tell how real a
thing is until it’s on the outside of you. What stays in your
head cannot get enough oxygen to be alive. Test things on
paper.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). You’d like to make an
important discovery. It’s been said that part of discovery is
determining what’s worth discovering. Maybe. Or maybe
that’s all of it. Either way, it will happen close to home today.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). Sometimes you talk to
yourself. You’ve also been known to stage conversations in
your head. You’ve been annoyed by this habit at times, but
it will be a real asset today, helping you work things out and
sharpen your thinking.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Confidence comes from trusting
yourself. Not trusting yourself to be perfect; like every
human, you’ll make mistakes. But you can trust yourself to
rise, learn and keep doing your best.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You’ll present an idea. Just
as you want a pair of jeans that suits your proportions, use
a flattering format on which to serve your idea up. Consider
the desires of your audience and work backward from there.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Why say what you can imply?
To imply is to invite interpretation. Every interpretation is a
thread of energy. The more threads woven between you and
your audience, the greater the connection will be between
you.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). As long as you’re thinking
about the “what-ifs,” you may as well throw in a full
range, from the terrible to the ridiculous and of course the
outrageously fantastic. Because what if you succeed wildly?
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). You don’t have to be
embroiled in a scandal to offer “no comment.” It’s always an
option, especially when no one (other than your own brain)
is commanding you to speak. By not weighing in, you leave
your options open.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Avid readers are better
writers. Admirers of style are more stylish. Great athletes are
first and foremost avid sports fans. Whatever you want to
become, you get there through appreciation.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). It’s moving day. Whether
you’re moving furniture, your body, your address -- a new
you takes over and life quickly snaps to fit the fresh identity.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Those who are too proud
to ask for directions are at a disadvantage. And you don’t
have to wait until you are lost either. Sidle up to an expert and
you’ll learn more than you asked for.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Dec. 9). You use your freedom,
not to do as you please, but to do what’s best. Ever aware
of what the people around you need, you’re on the constant
lookout for opportunities to serve. Vigilance earns you
position in the world and in people’s hearts. None of this is
difficult for you; it’s who you are, and it brings you happiness
and wealth. Taurus and Leo adore you. Your lucky numbers
are: 6, 13, 4, 17 and 9.
Universal SUDOKU
SOLUTIONS