PUZZLES
Thursday, December 23, 2021
Triple Play by Michael Schlossberg
Universal Crossword edited by David Steinberg
ACROSS
1 New chow
4 Vain person’s
problem
7 A gentleman and
a ___
14 She lived in Eden
15 Murphy’s ___
16 Charge 50% rent
after a midmonth
move-in, say
17 Sphere used for
breaking
19 Uncommon jewel
20 *Super-G activity
at the Winter
Olympics
22 Rocketry org.
23 Sandwich filling
with mayonnaise
27 Oscar winner
Sarandon
31 Screenwriter
Ephron
32 Pretend to be
35 *Console for a
2008 “Mario Kart”
game
39 Hand tool in a
magic show
40 Bride-to-be’s last
words
41 Hopper Down
Under
42 Serving of corn
43 *Cheetah actress
in “Wonder
Woman 1984”
46 Wily
47 Otherwise
48 “___ the deal ...”
50 Common
profession before
baby formula was
invented
54 Comfort
58 Multipart boxing
moves, or a hint
to three vowels
in each starred
clue’s answer
62 Play again, as a
role
65 Assorted
66 Cry after evening
the score?
67 Chimp, e.g.
68 Hagen of
Broadway fame
69 Sunset
70 Feline zodiac
sign
71 “___ will be done”
DOWN
1 Nut that may be
candied
2 It’s visible when
you say “Ahh”
3 Marshmallowy
Easter candies
4 Panache
5 Strong wind
6 Nocturnal birds
7 Bit of parsley
8 Daniel who
played Bond
9 Trumpets and
others
10 Spaghetti sauce
herb
11 Zoom call hiccup
12 Had a hero, say
13 “Losing My
Religion” band
18 Favoritism
21 Daily Planet
reporter Clark
24 Home Depot
competitor
25 Popular sans
serif typeface
26 Milk, cheese, etc.
28 Motel room or
condo
29 Chips, for a
sandwich
30 Of unknown
name: Abbr.
32 Off-kilter
33 “The Very Hungry
Caterpillar” author
Eric
34 Turn, as a cap
36 Fourth-largest
Great Lake
37 Gritty film genre
38 Canine meme
that inspired a
crypto-currency
44 Married women,
in Mexico
45 “That was too
close!”
49 Big rig
51 Inapt anagram of
“untie”
52 It’s thicker than
sap
53 Horse of yore
55 Up and ___ (no
longer in bed)
56 Pole position?
57 Writing-heavy
exam format
59 0-shaped
60 Part of Shazam’s
costume
61 Holiday cookie
house brand
62 Free (of)
63 Greek H
64 “Gangnam Style”
rapper
Silent Night by Paul Coulter
Universal Crossword edited by Amanda Rafkin
ACROSS
1 Place to enjoy a
mud mask
4 Electrically
flexible
8 Ceiling
11 Lead-in to “Major”
or “Minor”
13 Mild yellow
cheese
15 The “C” of TLC
16 Op-ed piece,
e.g. (note letter
15 in this clue’s
answer)
19 Play matchmaker
for
20 “... but I could be
wrong”
21 One might
take place in a
conference room
(letter 4)
26 “Rubaiyat” poet
Khayyam
27 Relieved sounds
28 O-shaped earring
29 E or G, e.g.
30 Hamster’s home
32 Fanatics
34 Bothers incessantly
(letter 1)
36 Says “I am what I
am!”
40 Resistance units
41 CEO’s degree,
sometimes
44 Hilarious person
45 Cavs, on a
scoreboard
46 Word before
“ring” or “lighting”
47 Very slim
possibility (letter
3)
52 “Luther” star Elba
53 Home with a
bird’s-eye view
54 Person in charge
(letter 13)
59 Pretentiously
cultured
60 Root beer-and-ice
cream treat
61 Celeste of “All
About Eve”
62 “For sure!”
63 Legendary
Himalayan beast
64 Animated movie
set in Brazil
4 Visibly surprised
5 “That’s a ___-
out!”
6 Expected
7 Disk drive inserts
8 Word on yellow
tape
9 Pitcher’s asset
10 Writing tool for
some crossword
solvers
12 Buzzing
14 A lot, for some?
15 Provide apparel
for
17 “German
sausage jokes
are just the
wurst,” e.g.
18 Final number in
“A Chorus Line,”
inaptly
21 ___ choy
22 It’s a long story
23 One helped raise
Romulus and
Remus
24 Agree silently
DOWN
25 Apple Maps tech
1 The world
revolves around it 30 Cinematic FX
31 Pantry pest
2 Suppose
32 Relatives, for
3 “In a manner of
speaking ...”
short
33 “___ not easy
being green”
35 Moisturizing
butter type
36 British singer Rita
37 Drag queen’s
hairpiece
38 “Don’t give me
any clues”
39 Boring
41 Keep an eye on
42 Tenor Andrea
43 Suffix for “Gator”
or “Power”
45 Not at all cheap
46 Grassy wetland
48 Letters seen
outside a hit
Broadway show
49 Minor quarrel
50 Desert plants
51 “Isn’t ___ bit like
you and me?”
(“Nowhere Man”
lyric)
54 Capital of Korea?
55 Fury
56 Groundbreaking
tool?
57 Enjoy some
samosas
58 Paramore genre
East Oregonian
B1
HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY MATHIS
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2021 Saturn’s Wild Card Christmas Eve
There’s a wild card thrown into the cosmic deck this
Christmas Eve with Saturn’s angle to Uranus. Virgo moon
is a player in this game too, offering diligence, attention
to detail and the energy to work like Santa into the night.
Surprises keep it interesting. Whatever comes is an
opportunity to call on our better angels.
ARIES (March 21-April 19). You’ll get what you
weren’t quite ready for and it’s brilliant... proof positive
that you don’t have to be perfectly prepared to be able to
make the most of the moment.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Authenticity is not
something you can easily describe or define because it’s
different for each person and situation. But you know it
when you see it and you feel it when you’re in it. Honest
goodness is the prevailing note today.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). The spotlight swings to
you for good reason. You have demonstrated that you
know what to do in its glow. You’ve earned this attention.
Your practice is paying off. Enjoy it.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). Don’t worry about who’s
better and who’s best. As you find satisfaction with being
good at something, loving and learning it, you feel rich
indeed.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Self-doubt is normal,
especially right before the big moment. Dig a little deeper
for the rock-solid kernel of confidence that prompted you
to take a chance in the first place.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). The opportunity of the
day looks a lot like work, which of course it is. The
opportunity of the day is work leading to more work
followed by the deep, profound satisfaction of work well
done.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Those who don’t warm
up to many people will feel safe around you. It’s not so
much what you say, but the way you say things. Your
connection with people of different generations will be
especially nice.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). You have a strong
inclination about how you should be spending these
moments. Follow it. Don’t get hoodwinked into thinking
that the other people around you know better. Your way
is best for you.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Whatever mood
you strike, it gets magnified by the particulars of the day.
So, start with joy. Just when you think you couldn’t get
any happier, you will.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). The only way to get
the kinks out of your plan is to start working it. When the
flow of productivity stops, it’s the blessing that shows you
what to fix. You’ll fix it and continue.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Because solving
problems makes you smarter, you don’t see problems as
frustrating. You see them as interesting little challenges,
a point of view that will support your success.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). You may have the
impulse to save things that will not be of further use to
you. If you’re not totally convinced of the inherent value
of something, discard it. Love it or lose it.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Dec. 24). As far as rides go,
this year will be the exciting sort that people line up for,
including climbs, swoops and thrilling twists. You’ll have
the most fun when you stay loose and yet well-aligned.
A long process comes to a happy end. You’ll be certified
in some way. Surprises in your personal life bring out
your best. Taurus and Aquarius adore you. Your lucky
numbers are: 8, 20, 16, 7 and 44.
Universal SUDOKU
SOLUTIONS
HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY MATHIS
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2021 A Cosmic Christmas Carol
In the Charles Dickens story “A Christmas Carol,” the
apparition of Marley, burdened by chains of greed,
influenced Scrooge to embrace the generous callings
of the day. Saturn angles Uranus in the sign of money
conjure visions of Christmas surprise unique to each of
us. May better angels prevail, singing, “Peace on earth,
goodwill to all.”
ARIES (March 21-April 19). You’ll put something
together -- a puzzle, the clues in a mystery, two people
you think should know each other. The assembly you
manage will be fantastically lucky.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You’ll instigate the
fun. You’ll address the challenges of the day by taking
initiative, showing drive and fleshing out the details of
your imagination to great effect.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Thinking about the future
can be much more pleasurable than the reality you find
when you get there. All the more reason to indulge in the
pleasure of dreaming.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). There’s joy in going
along for the ride. Giving in to the decisions of others will
bring surprises and fun. Tonight, dollars will not be the
currency that buys the good stuff.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You’ll want to control the
experience you’re about to have, but it’s precisely your
lack of control over it that will make it fun. Tonight, you’ll
reveal something about yourself in a comfortable, open
environment.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You’re respected. You will
say what others have said before and get a completely
different reaction. People want to act on your ideas
because of who you are.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). You expect much of
yourself, and you’re capable of delivering on those
expectations. The team will help, and you will also help
the team -- so much so that by the end of the day, your
own agenda will be a distant memory.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). You’ll get requests
that seem forward, but it’s only because you are so
comfortable to be around. Your lack of pretense makes
people feel they know you better than they actually do.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Your cosmic gift
is easy social rapport. Focusing on the needs and wants
of others takes the pressure off of you -- no need to come
up with an agenda, and you’ll enjoy the results more than
anyone.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Your mind holds
expansive visions and you’ve been dreaming a little
bigger and more colorful, too. It is now possible to bring
your fantasies into a real-world scenario.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). You’ll be casting
someone for a role. The one who is best for a job may
defy the typical criteria. You’ll make wise decisions with
sound reasoning behind them, though even you may not
fully understand what the reasons are.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Despite all you’ve
experienced you still have the hope of the innocent
and the faith of the uninitiated. Because you see life as
precious, wondrous and beautiful, others around you see
it that way too.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Dec. 25). As part of a
tight group, you’ll know a side of life many never will.
Entranced and fascinated, you’ll find the danger in beauty
and the beauty in danger. Create solid daily balance;
the thrills happen intermittently on their own schedule.
Financial luck and hard work go hand in hand, giving you
more leeway. Gemini and Aquarius adore you. Your lucky
numbers are: 4, 20, 11, 40 and 15.
Universal SUDOKU
SOLUTIONS