PUZZLES
Tuesday, February 1, 2022
Taking Shape by Paul Coulter
Universal Crossword edited by David Steinberg
ACROSS
1 Like flexible
adapters
5 One of the Everly
Brothers
9 Hitching post?
14 Bring up
15 Went up
16 Stop temporarily
17 Return to the
starting point,
pictorially?
19 “Como ___?”
20 Dido’s love
21 Color variation
22 Long locks of hair
25 Maze-running
rodent
27 Dashes
28 Andean land
29 Unpleasant scent
30 Freed from
blame, pictorially?
36 5,280 feet
37 Not suitable
38 ___ Scotia
salmon
39 Reptile that’s
toxic to eat,
pictorially?
41 Neighbor of
Yemen
42 Fateful date in
ancient Rome
43 Horror author
hidden in
“bloodthirstiness”
44 Discarded
47 Least fresh
49 Still contending
50 “Relax, and that’s
an order!”
52 Italian city where
“Otello” premiered
54 Party snack
pairing,
pictorially?
58 Budget, in brand
names
59 Locks in a stable?
60 Early course
61 Breaks from
activity
62 Flock females
63 “Terrible” years for
tots
DOWN
1 ___ welder
2 Boardroom VIP
3 River barrier
4 With no pressing
needs?
5 Trim back
6 Rabbits dig them
7 Spanish bit
of land that
anagrams to “sail”
8 Some summer
births
9 Copy
10 Words before a
grand finale
11 Private teacher
12 Yoga posture
13 Change, as a trip
meter
18 Come clean, with
“up”
22 Defeat decisively
23 Driver’s news
source
24 Bacterium in bad
lettuce
25 Some turns
26 Kennel sound
28 Daddy
30 Like composition
paper
31 “Hanna” star
Mireille
32 T, in Athens
33 Bro
34 See 35-Down
35 With 34-Down,
1988 and
1992 Olympic
swimming
champion
72 “Flying Over
Sunset” drug
73 From scratch
DOWN
1 Thick rug type
2 “That hurts!”
3 Range above
tenor
4 Volkswagen
model
5 Singer Dionne
6 Never have I ___
7 “Jazz” author
Morrison
8 Like hip-hugging
jeans
9 Hoppy pint, briefly
10 Biblical patriarch
who lived to be
969
11 Creme-filled
cookies
12 Military officer,
informally
15 “I’m innocent!”
21 Tom kha kai
cuisine
22 Ages and ages
27 What a
snowman’s eyes
might be made of
28 Black-and-white
whale
29 On a ___ basis
HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY MATHIS
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2022 Moon Favors Psychic Marmots
A prescient Pisces moon oversees the gathering at
Gobbler’s Knob in Pennsylvania for the ceremonial
appearance of Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage
of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators and Weather
Prophet Extraordinary. Whatever the marmot’s prediction,
you have the power to end your own personal winter.
ARIES (March 21-April 19). You’ll expand your circle
of influence. You’ll be especially charismatic in casual
settings. Your manner is informal; you’ll shine in this
mode. People feel comfortable around you.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Part of forwarding
your interests is protecting them. You’re a warrior with
a keen sense about when to defend, attack or retreat. Stay
flexible and alert. Keep your options open.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). You’ll concentrate on
one thing until it’s solved. It’s a bit like your mind is
a television show, and you don’t want to change the
channel until the end credits roll.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). To make a plan with
someone and execute it builds the relationship yet not
as much as the casual in-between moments of doing
nothing together. It’s the way you are when your guard is
down that matters most.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Your all-out efforts make life
exciting. You wouldn’t want to run at this intensity all
the time, but it’s working today. Better to do excess in
moderation than to do moderation in excess.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You’re willing to take
other people’s feelings seriously if needed, but you’re in
no mood to take yourself seriously. You skate through
tasks that used to be hard because you’ve upgraded your
thoughts on the matter.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). You’re full of ideas, many
of them good, only one of them possible at a time. Be
wary of adding new projects today because they will take
over in unexpected ways. First, finish what you were
already working on.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). You think you’re in
the right, and you probably are. For now, keeping that
to yourself will give you more options. You’ll be able to
observe the situation while others are unguarded.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Resources
become available to you. You’ve only just scratched the
surface of what you can do. Keep going. You can take this
further than you dreamed.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Our solar system
is composed of mostly empty space, but today you still
don’t have enough of it. Your time alone is precious and
when you get some, you’ll use it well, possibly doing
nothing at all, a worthy enough pursuit.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Giving is tricky.
There’s a point when it’s uncool or counterproductive
to give too much. Make double sure you’re getting an
accurate read on the situation. Take your cues from those
more established in it.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Simple gestures are
effective, especially when it comes to love and romance.
Less is more. Too much talking can diminish what you’ve
already accomplished with an intentional moment of eye
contact.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Feb. 2). Here comes a heap
of cosmic gifts. Make room by getting rid of something
-- for instance, your tight hold on one idea of the future.
Open your mind to options, then in drops a lovely
February surprise. Spring sees the blossoming of your
professional life with the mastery of a skill. Summer is
synonymous with love. Cancer and Virgo adore you. Your
lucky numbers are: 9, 1, 44, 49 and 17.
Universal SUDOKU
43 What parents
don’t want to hear
44 Kitchen counter?
45 Chilling like
champagne
SOLUTIONS
46 Barn adjuncts,
perhaps
47 Rive Gauche’s
river
48 Records on
cassette
50 Topmost point
51 Become friendlier
53 Discouraging
words
55 “This instant!”
56 Batman and
Robin, e.g.
57 FedEx alternative
Universal Crossword edited by Amanda Rafkin
35 Really harsh
38 Gets 100% on
40 ___-Man (Marvel
character)
42 Balm ingredient
43 “Well aren’t you
fancy!”
46 “’Tis a shame!”
49 Dial-up internet
pioneer
50 Gaffers’ needs for
a 2000 Benicio
Del Toro film?
53 Airport with a
BART stop
55 Test in a tube
56 ___-you-can-eat
57 “Adult” acorn
58 Graphic
designers for a
2018 “Star Wars”
origin story?
64 Forward thrust
66 “Just a little off
the top” haircut
67 “Noice!” or “No
ice!”
68 How sardines are
packed
69 Rabbit relative
70 Early cut of a
song
71 Sunrise times
A15
40 Most common
poem in
crosswords
Play Off Pictures by Karen Stock and Matthew Stock
ACROSS
1 Source of suds
5 Like a burrito
smothered in
sauce
8 They pull up to
red carpets
13 ___-Hoop
14 Cosmetics brand
16 Performance that
might end on a
high note?
17 Plays a role
18 Nevada gambling
city
19 Word before “bed”
or “slide”
20 Screenplay
author for a 1990
Moore-Swayze
film?
23 Monopolize
24 Spicy tuna roll
fish
25 French for “me”
26 “What’s the ___?”
27 inematographers’
accessories for a
1997 Jodie Foster
film?
33 Mined resource in
Catan
34 Swedish furniture
store
East Oregonian
30
31
32
36
37
39
41
44
45
47
48
51
52
53
54
59
60
61
62
63
65
Brewed beverage
Hawaiian porch
Model Marcille
Cheer (for)
Shocking things
to find in the
ocean, perhaps?
Respectful
address
Pampering letters
Empowered
women in some
stories
Hairstyle for
Erykah Badu,
sometimes
Startled
River mouth
buildup
Grime
“Popular” singer
in “Wicked”
Not liquid or
gaseous
Counterpart of
flora
Like some reports
Runs on TV
Noticed
Domesticate
Store away
___ rummy
HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY MATHIS
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2022 End of the Mercury Retrograde
To take advantage of Mercury’s newly direct status, create
a system to make your life easier while simultaneously
aiming you toward a favorable outcome. Goals will eat your
energy. Better to organize your life into an arrangement that
will ultimately make your work very easy. Planning and
innovating pay off under these stars.
ARIES (March 21-April 19). You’ll tick five things off of
your to-do list before you even get close to the part about
your own enjoyment. Avoid future burnout by constructing
these lists with more of an eye to pleasure.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Keep looking for that
special something to add to your collection. It’s out there
for you. The search will be an adventure that makes your
ultimate find all the more valuable.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). You know what type of
person you want to become, and you take action every day
to move toward this glorious creature until you ultimately
merge as one.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). You’re like a car dealer
encouraging potential buyers to take a test drive of your
offerings. Once people try the merchandise, they will be
hooked!
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You’re not afraid to rock the
boat in the name of justice or even for lesser reasons, like
your own amusement. How hard should you rock it? That
depends on how much you care who tumbles out.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You feel somewhat
dependent on the good opinion of others, which makes you
human, but also keeps you tethered. To be free, you’ll have
to give up the notion that everyone should like what you’re
doing.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). You’ve struck on a method
that works, and not just for you -- this will work for anyone.
And though there will be clear benefits to all who do it your
way, it’s still important to recognize that this is not the only
way. Stay open-minded.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). The day invites
comparison between A and B. Hint: Just because two things
are next to each other doesn’t mean there’s a logical intrinsic
relationship between them.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). You’ll solve the
problem and get a surge of gleeful excitement. This kind of
charge could get addictive. And who do you have to thank
for it? The problem itself, without which none of this would
be possible.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). When you think about
it, most people throughout human history have believed
incorrect things. What sets you apart as a leader and a
forward-thinker is that you question and continually update
your beliefs.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Behavior tells you
everything you need to know. Listen to what people do, not
what they say. What they do is soundless and yet it rings out
with the loudest truth.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). What’s happening now
is something you didn’t choose, but you still have plenty of
power in the situation, most notably, the power to call your
trouble a teacher. Lift its heaviness and grow strong.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Feb. 3). It’s a year of games.
You’re strategic, competitive and winning. You’ll shine in a
formal setting for key moments. Pictures will be taken. Even
so, the most memorable events will be silly and strange
interpersonal dynamics. You’ll become even closer to your
favorites. Good relationships are your pride and treasure.
Cancer and Virgo adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 4, 15,
2, 28 and 39.
Universal SUDOKU
SOLUTIONS