PUZZLES
Thursday, December 9, 2021
Down Clue by Hanh Huynh
Universal Crossword edited by David Steinberg
ACROSS
1 Brag
6 Raise a paddle at
an auction
9 Hole punchers
13 Radio knob
14 Had dinner, say
15 Use as a bed
17 *How most loans
are repaid
19 Opening words
20 Mike’s partner in
candy
21 “Rushmore”
director Anderson
23 Outfit for one
who’s en pointe
24 It can last a
lifetime
26 *One-hit wonder,
for example
29 “Cold, hard”
statements
31 More pretentious
32 “That’s probably a
good idea”
34 Sketch comedy
show, briefly
35 “Cheers”
bartender
38 Singer Warwick
39 (Giggle)
41 Artist Yoko
42 Dance move
popularized by
Cam Newton
44 Hats with strings
45 Container for
serving wine
47 Huge concert
venue
48 *Like many
interval training
exercises
52 Beer first shipped
to Madras and
Calcutta, briefly
53 Surprised
greeting
54 Match, as a 44-
Down
55 And so forth:
Abbr.
57 Tilts
59 Suggest
something subtly,
or what the
answers to the
starred clues do
vertically
64 “Inferno” author
65 Monk’s condition,
for short
66 Pie nut
67 Poke fun at
68 Originally named
69 Skilled
DOWN
1 Texter’s
“Incidentally ...”
2 French affirmative
3 “A Bug’s Life”
insect
4 “The Outsiders”
author
5 Difficult hike
6 Honey
7 Fighting words
8 Finds repulsive
9 Comedian Wong
10 Season in House
Stark’s motto
11 Abate
12 Kind of, casually
16 New York is a
proper one
18 One wearing a
bow tie in a ring
22 Japanese religion
24 Washbowl
25 Sneeze sound
27 Wee fellow
28 Montana’s capital
29 Classic dog name
30 Relative of a
banana split
33 Benefits from
mistakes
35 They’re used to
being fleeced
36 Cigna competitor
37 Small plateau
40 Like flour with
restored nutrients
43 Inspired by
44 Action at the
poker table
45 Calico fabric used
for upholstery
46 Intense, as
competition
48 Wait on the
phone
49 “Rumor has it ...”
50 Country west of
Togo
51 Informal answer
to “Is the pope
Catholic?”
56 Bite at a Spanish
bar
58 “___ who?!”
60 Poem hidden in
“good effort”
61 Word after “black”
or “pack”
62 Short rest
63 Nobel invention,
for short
Natural Inclination by George Jasper
Universal Crossword edited by Amanda Rafkin
ACROSS
1 Transparent eye
part
7 South Pacific
nation
11 Break in
continuity
14 Cooks, like clams
15 Cheese in a red
wax
16 Game with a Wild
Draw Four card
17 *Slanted text
20 Person up on a
soapbox, maybe
21 Erases
22 “Bottled or
___?” (waiter’s
question)
24 House call?
25 Preamble
30 www.indiana.___
33 Worry
36 *Structure that
tourists “hold up”
in photos
40 Attorney’s field
41 ___ kick (soccer
move named for
a cutting tool)
42 Slight trace
44 “Ten Responses
to the Phrase ‘___
Up’” (Guante poem)
45 *Column with an
angle
47 “Into the
Unknown” singer
in “Frozen 2”
49 Get the picture
50 Like some wine
barrels
51 Tats
53 Chow line?
56 “Quit fidgeting!”
60 More greasy
65 *Piece of
equipment with
rungs and sliding
sections
68 Gibbon or
bonobo, e.g.
69 A bit wet
70 Name that
sounds like a
self-description
of each starred
clue’s answer
71 Word paired with
“neither”
72 “At once!”
73 Gets hot on
social media
DOWN
1 Long-running
CBS drama
2 Apt name for a
race car driver
3 Raise, like a child
4 Beyonce’s role in
“The Lion King”
5 Give off
6 Fred’s neckwear
in “Scooby-Doo”
7 Hat with tassels
8 Pointed a finger
at?
9 Green gemstone
prized in China
10 Insinuate
11 Bit of
embellishment in
a rock song
12 Actress/model
Watanabe
13 Soup-cooking
vessels
18 Playwright Levin
19 Place to see
clown fish
23 Word before “talk”
or “rally”
25 Unhelpful
response to
“Who’s there?”
26 Super lite
27 Artemis, to Apollo
28 High-___ monitor
29 “Ish”
31 Opera star
32 Person rating an
app, probably
34 “King of birds”
35 12-year-old, e.g.
37 “Sorry, my
mistake!”
38 Like water at
most restaurants
39 Concerning
43 Aunt, in Spanish
46 Anti-trafficking
org.
48 Feed the kitty
52 Varieties
54 Comedian
Funches
55 ___ mignon
56 Fava or mung
morsel
57 Convention
center event
58 Aspiring D.A.’s
exam
59 Capital of Peru
61 Villain’s hideout
62 Sit with the
engine running
63 Starter home?
64 Clarinet necessity
66 Make a choice
67 Some hospital
employees: Abbr.
East Oregonian
A9
HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY MATHIS
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2021 Moody Moon
For the modern human, the greatest pains of life are
emotional and existential. On the bright side, these sorts
of aches can be the birth pangs of brilliant ideas. The
moody Pisces moon will run through a psychological
range, giving us the opportunity and sensitivity to feel a
wide array of emotions, transmutable into creative gold.
ARIES (March 21-April 19). Anger is not like a drug;
it is a drug. It alters a person’s chemistry more effectively
than a lot of other substances. Keep this in mind while
dealing with people who seem to lean on this emotion.
Maybe it’s not about you.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Even the self-made have
teachers, perhaps in the form of books or role models.
Why limit your influences or accept the first instructor
to come along? You’ll love what happens when you
proactively choose your mentors.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). As character-building
as rejection is, there’s no reason to get more of it than
necessary. Before you put your project or yourself out
there, find out what it typically takes to get to yes.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). Success will seem to
take forever and include one near miss after another until
you begin to wonder if you’re ever going to get there.
Push through the dip. When you hit, you’ll hit a jackpot.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Small things can have life-
changing intensity. One pinch of hot chili pepper changes
the dish. One spark lights the fire. One smoldering look
can set off a chain affecting generations.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Love gives more than it
takes. You’ll feel enlarged by everything you deliver in
love, and others will be bigger for everything they give
in the same spirit.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). In today’s case, impulsivity
will be a minus. Before you make the move you are
contemplating, talk it out with someone knowledgeable
and reasonable.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Old pictures, past social
media posts and historic texts will be part of the texture
of this day. Some artifacts make you smile. As for the
cringeworthy ones, let them represent how far you’ve
come. Celebrate growth.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). You’ll be asked to
handle other people’s problems. You’d like to. It would be
easier. But then you’ll have to do it every time, and when
you’re not around they’ll suffer. The kind way is to help
others be self-sufficient.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). You’ll win. Stay
humble and quiet about the victory for now, if not out
of modesty, then for strategy. Competition is everywhere.
And even when people don’t want to compete with you,
success changes the social dynamic.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). The muses will be
tardy. Don’t wait on them. Inspiration will start to trickle
in after you get working. The principle applies to your
social life too. Friends will hop on a train that’s already
in motion.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Adaptability is one
of your many gifts. You come across the odd and
unexpected, beyond your expertise and outside of your
preference. And yet still ... you get used to it, make the
most of it, turn it all to your advantage.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Dec. 10). Your cosmic gift is
one of great presence and magnetism. It allows you to
speak with silence and impart messages that suggest
more than words allow. You’ll use this to lead people,
facilitate lucky connections and make it easy for people to
create significant, beautiful and helpful things as a group.
Gemini and Capricorn adore you. Your lucky numbers
are: 8, 10, 4, 44 and 19.
Universal SUDOKU
SOLUTIONS
HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY MATHIS
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2021 Venus Kisses Pluto
The cosmic kiss of Venus and Pluto asks, “What is love?”
Out of the larger question comes a more personal one.
“What makes me lovable?” If you dare ask people around
you, they’ll remind you. “Nature arms each man with
some faculty which enables him to do easily some feat
impossible to any other.” -- Ralph Waldo Emerson
ARIES (March 21-April 19). The machines don’t
seem to be on your side, though their failure to perform
as expected will make your day even better. Your
workarounds will be nothing short of brilliant.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You’re tempted to
deliver something different from the order. What you have
in mind is more generous and of a higher quality, but
that won’t necessarily make it well-received. People want
what they want for a reason.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). A good plan will prevent
wasted resources. And a bad plan, oddly enough, will do
the same if you approach it with an open and adaptive
mind. Either way you’re thinking ahead, which is what the
day calls for.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). Judging from your
reaction to today’s events, you still care what someone
thinks of you. You might be surprised at how much!
Regardless, base your next move solely on what’s best
for you.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You’d love to know, once and
for all, the perfect diet for you. Or maybe it’s your ideal
clothing style or other personal agenda for which you
seek answers. Alas, even if there is a perfect prescription
for now, it will change next season.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). There are those who work
very hard to make it look easy, then there are those who
make it look easy because for them it actually is. You’ll
learn more from people who fall into the first category.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). The secret behind today’s
success is your open heart. You include people, consider
their ideas and say yes even when you’re not sure what
you’re getting into. Extending love and trust will pay off
for you.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Being busy doesn’t
convey status and neither does having too much
leisure. You give people higher ranking when they pace
themselves well and do enjoyable work that matters to
them.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). You are even more
curious than usual, especially on subjects you already
know a little about. Your astute questions will flatter those
who aren’t used to attracting such focused attention.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Emotions are
released in you for reasons. The triggers are real. Look
at what excites you, what makes you laugh or cry.
Investigate what makes you angry. Greater knowledge of
your feelings will help you control them better.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Everyone is quirky
in some way. You like finding out exactly what that way
is. It’s even more delightful when you discover your own
idiosyncrasies, which are made easier to see by an astute
person getting to know you.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). There are definite perks
to remaining nonjudgmental. People feel comfortable
around you. They learn that they can be honest versions
of themselves and you get to know how things really are.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Dec. 11). You’ll be granted a
wish -- the one you are willing to give your best to and
put dozens of attempts behind. The work is more than
expected and the satisfaction and reward will be triple
that expectation! You’ll come into a new version of your
power in 2022 and you’ll like how you can help people
with your position. Aquarius and Gemini adore you. Your
lucky numbers are: 9, 10, 4, 44 and 16.
Universal SUDOKU
SOLUTIONS