PUZZLES Tuesday, April 12, 2022 Ba-dum-tss by Michael B. Berg Universal Crossword edited by Amanda Radfkin ACROSS 1 *Photograph 5 *Alcoholic treat that jiggles 10 *Free throw 14 Turkish currency 15 Fiji competitor 16 Brand of dog food 17 Rapper/actor in “SVU” 18 It might be hard to resist 20 Hawaiian geese 22 Dissenting votes 23 Swimwear in a Sisqo hit 24 Tiny particles 26 West of old Hollywood 27 Pranked using bathroom tissue, for short 28 Rest area? 32 Went after 35 ___ tai 36 Just all right 37 “Told ya!” 38 Drum stroke after a punchline ... or a hint to interpreting the starred clues’ answers 41 West Bank grp. 42 How a WNBA game may end 44 Prefix with “binary” 45 Attaches, like a patch 47 Wage 49 Car part that can be used as a swing 50 Angsty genre 51 Blush or foundation, e.g. 55 Despises 58 Honey ___! (cereal) 59 Animal whose name means “laziness” 60 Environmentally friendly travel 63 End in ___ (come out even) 64 Prefix with “nautical” 65 Present-day deliveryman? 66 Name hidden in “copped an attitude” 67 *Tricky tennis stroke 68 *Like eyes after an all-nighter, maybe 69 *Powerful hockey hit DOWN 1 *Y-shaped weapon 2 More upscale 3 Large performance venue 4 Inventors’ documents 5 Jacuzzi feature 6 Smoothed (out) 7 Rides to the red carpet 8 Drinks like a cat 9 N.Y.’s Canadian neighbor 10 Some families have two 11 Oil, at a trattoria 12 Atop 13 *One-in-a-million chance 19 Slightly 21 “___ Mario Bros.” 25 Served as a segue for 26 Process by which one cell becomes four 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 39 40 43 46 48 49 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 61 62 Cry of contempt “My bad!” Capital by a fjord *Apollo mission, e.g. *Short golf stroke Actress ___ Mae Lee “Howdy, sailor!” AOL alternative “The Simpsons” bartender Semesters, e.g. Where a Christmas angel might be placed Young’uns, in Scotland “Are not!” comeback Throw at Slacks fabric Tally 1986 Turner autobiography *Low blow *Photo in an actor’s portfolio Laptop brand Bull, in Spanish Like dissertation defenses Computer port letters Furious Statheads by Erik Agard Universal Crossword edited by David Steinberg ACROSS 1 “Let’s get this show on the ___” 5 Covered up 8 Greeting to a matey 12 R&B star India.___ 13 Exalting poem 14 Leia’s twin 15 Designation for the Nelson- Atkins Museum’s ~19-foot-high shuttlecocks 18 2009 Miranda Lambert song about a cheater 19 Scared 22 Game spelled by removing “w” from “Twister” and rearranging the rest 26 “Birds of ___” 27 Third-smallest country 31 Prefix for “dynamic” 32 Group of whales 33 “You serious?” 35 2021 WNBA champs 36 Roster of people hoping to be admitted 39 The ___ (New York City borough) 41 Donkey, biblically 42 Far from excitable 45 West African currency units 47 Understands 48 Ultimately became 50 “You couldn’t find any more?” 51 Mo. when the new year festival Quviasukvik starts 52 All-out brawl 54 Game with Reverse cards 55 Sports stat that’s a hint to the initials and meanings of 15-, 18- and 36-Across 60 In-flight guesses: Abbr. 61 Rowboat tool 62 Lightsaber fight 63 Given a new hue 64 Pig’s place 29 Vases with bases 30 Authorities’ rules, DOWN for short 1 Uncooked 33 “There, it should 2 Gold, in Spanish work now” 3 Route for a plane 34 Oct. 20 zodiac 4 India’s capital sign territory 37 Author Moody or 5 Amber Ruffin, Bronte for “The Amber 38 Wooden strip Ruffin Show” 39 Didn’t stay 6 Inactive colorfast 7 “I accept your offer!” 40 Kept for another 8 Organisms in season birdbaths 43 Tool for making 9 Labor leader yarn by hand Dolores 44 This, in Spanish 10 Signs off on 46 Japanese 11 Thus far wrestling form 16 Failed to 47 Clarified butter in 17 Religious biryani ceremony 19 Grindr, e.g. 49 Mexican money 20 To’s counterpart 50 Novelist McMillan 21 Silicon Valley 53 Aspiring location named attorney’s exam for a tree 56 Scottish no business 57 “Acid” 23 “Don’t worry ...” 58 Music holders in 24 Annoy cases 25 ___ latte 28 Piece in an opera 59 French yes 65 Fried okra, e.g. East Oregonian A15 HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY MATHIS WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 2022 Restless Moon The restless Virgo moon tugs at Venus and begs favors from Uranus. Waiting is pointless. Jump into the game whether or not you know how it’s played. As long as the ante is low, you’ll be fine. Education always has costs. Sometimes you pay for instruction; other times payment takes the form of loss -- the fastest, most efficient teacher of all. ARIES (March 21-April 19). You may have good reasons for feeling guarded around a certain someone. Perhaps your unconscious is receiving warning signs that your conscious mind has yet to pick up on. TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You’ve grown and changed in both intended and unintended ways. Reassess. If you were a character in a novel, how would you describe yourself at this point in the journey? GEMINI (May 21-June 21). With time and consistent effort in one direction, you can have what you want. You’ll make cuts today. You’ll let go of the distractions and dead weight that keep you from the aligned focus you need to be successful. CANCER (June 22-July 22). It is only through retrospect that you can understand the feelings, secrets and insights hidden in your psyche. Writing will improve your memory. The more you get down, the deeper you can go. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You appreciate helpful friendliness, although you don’t always trust it. You like to know what everyone has to gain from a situation. Today you’ll distinguish the genuinely kindhearted from those who are up to something. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). People need entertainment. Bored people are unpleasant at best, dangerous at worst. That’s where you come in. You’ve a talent for keeping people occupied, amused and delighted. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). The situation gets out of hand. This is how you know it’s energized. You can use this! In time you’ll figure out how to constructively apply the resource. For now, just notice. Determine what’s under your control and focus there. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). You can only do so much by yourself. Share ideas with a group. Seek those with different but complementary skills. You’ll find you can help one another accomplish goals. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Before something exists, it doesn’t. And when it doesn’t, it’s often unimaginable. Maybe right now you can’t quite find a hopeful image to wrap your head around, but can you have faith in the unimaginable future? CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Add joy to your day proactively and you’ll avoid unwanted overindulgences. Trying new things counts, too, as it’s possible that you have yet to meet the activity or interest that will bring you much continued pleasure. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). When territorial instincts are triggered, all bets are off. Such issues hit at a primal and irrational level of being and will not be settled through logic -- but you’ll find other ways to harmonize the situation. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). The important things will take longer than you expect because they are more involved than they seem on the surface. This pace is perfect, though; it gives you time to develop skills to meet the complexity of the situation. TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (April 13). Magic happenings will encourage you along a path. But this is not predestined. You decide what you want to learn, then the right teacher will come into your life. Advanced levels of your journey feature a valuable bestowment. It’s not the actual object but what it represents to you that will make a difference. Pisces and Virgo adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 2, 22, 1, 28 and 40. Universal SUDOKU SOLUTIONS HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY MATHIS THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2022 Thoughts for a Mars Passage As Mars crosses into ethereal Pisces, try this one on: Nothing is indispensable. Everything can be released. With this attitude, you won’t be so worried about loss that you cling to things. Because you don’t hold on too tightly to any relationship or material item, everything breathes. All ties are loose enough to blow in the breeze of freedom. ARIES (March 21-April 19). You’ve tried to slot someone into a pattern that suited you, and it worked for a while, but ultimately each must answer to individual needs... an inevitability of life. TAURUS (April 20-May 20). People can be unpredictable, erratic and irresponsible. That doesn’t make them less lovable to you, but it does mean you’ll have to think ahead or work around them to achieve your desired outcome. GEMINI (May 21-June 21). You will avoid the frustration that inevitably comes with not getting what you want by simply not wanting it. Your cosmic gift of the day is the amazing ability to just drop it and instead desire something right within reach. CANCER (June 22-July 22). No one learns alone. “Self-taught” is a myth. Learning begins by watching, listening to and following the teacher. Today’s teacher may be a book, a principle or an unfolding event. You’ll soak up all you need to know. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You usually don’t like it when people who don’t need help ask for it anyway. But who has the time to make sure each request is legit? Today it won’t matter. You’ll help others and you’re the one who will end up feeling lucky. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Your problems are not to blame for what ails you. Rather, these complications are what will grow you into a more creative and resourceful person. The things you must do to survive and thrive will be the source of your strength. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Those who make excuses or pass blame deprive themselves of the chance to learn the right way to do a task. You recognize this in others and avoid making the same mistake. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Out of modesty and social grace, you don’t always highlight your accomplishments and all you’ve got going on. However, right now there’s someone near who will benefit from your work. So, talk it up! SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Growth takes time, but it doesn’t take forever. You’ve been patient, nurturing and positive, yet things haven’t formed to the shape you needed them to be. Nothing is so essential you can’t let it go. Start over new. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). The task at hand is something you would do even if you were not paid to. Even so, don’t offer it for free. People will value it better if they pay for it. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Whatever you’re working with, make it your own. Forget about what a thing was designed to do. What do you need it to do? You’ll get completely original results because you’re not bound to the rules. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). To live in harmony is as much about hitting the right tones as it is about getting the timing right. You pace yourself to strike the right mood with the right moment. TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (April 14). Implausible happenings blossom in your life, so don’t limit your wishing to that which seems reasonable. You’ll be dealing in realms that don’t exist at the time of this reading, so send your hopes to the stars and your plans to the outer edges, and keep pushing. New scenes are painted with the vitality of your passion. Virgo and Scorpio adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 1, 44, 38, 9 and 5. Universal SUDOKU SOLUTIONS