PUZZLES
Saturday, June 25, 2022
Universal Freestyle 26 by Billy Bratton
Universal Crossword edited by David Steinberg
ACROSS
1 Band with the
album “High
Voltage”
5
8
12
15
16
18
19
20
22
23
26
28
31
32
33
DOWN
1 Piercing tools
2 Journalist Weihua
38 Order a pizza,
maybe
3 Lavish love (on)
“Doctor Who”
39 Dapper ___
4 Began dealing
network
(with)
(designer)
Semicircular
5 Plead
40 Awry
church section
6 LDS-sponsored
41 Childish big-time
Question of
school
challenge
identity
7
Not
single-gender
45 Amount to take
Obligation
8 Fuss
46 Jane with the
“Don’t give the
9 It excludes private
line “Reader, I
answer away yet!”
social interactions
married
him”
It often has a
10 Cry to a fleeing
custom reed
47 German for “a”
pickpocket
Mocking
48 Grinnell College’s 11 Watches carefully
expression
state
13 Aired again
Solves, say
50 City hidden in
14 ‘Merica, with “the”
CDs’ precursors
“local anesthetic”
17 Noticed
Lassie trailer?
54 ___ Tuesday
21 Quench
Sensed the
56 Top-notch servers 24 “Life ___ fair”
tension in the air
59 “Shoot!”
25 Bathrooms, in
Title biker gang
Bristol
60
(Taps
watch)
in a former FX
27 “Think ...”
61 Extravagant
drama
promotion
28 Sticker on a wall?
Really liked
29 Bilbo’s cousin
Neither here ___ 62 Jazz org.
there
63 Buddhist child on 30 “Certainly!”
“The Simpsons”
31 Journal opener
Pop star Minogue
34 Underground
groups
34 “Game, ___,
match”
35 Former
Communist
leader Zhou
36 Parrot’s enclosure
DOWN
1 (Over here!)
2 Mathematician
Turing
3 Left
4 Nickname for
Edward
5 “I don’t need to
hear this!”
6 ___ and sciences
7 Run after
8 Person who
eschews excess
9 Flying saucer
flyers: Abbr.
10 Present’s
opposite
11 They have
cushions and
pockets
12 Pop a wheelie,
perhaps
13 Pub perch
15 Get married at
a Vegas drive-
through, say
21 End of a pronoun
trio
22 Currency in
Buenos Aires
24 Cow sounds
25 Songbird with a
silent first letter
HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY MATHIS
SUNDAY, JUNE 26, 2022 Lunar Scene Stealer
Romantic love is only one type of love, though its high
intensity gives it a real main-character energy. Other
types of love, such as friendliness and compassion,
will fit easily into the cosmic chorus line as the
moon aligns with Venus, but romance prefers to find
a spotlight and dance its own choreography.
ARIES (March 21-April 19). There are doors in
your mind you could open or not, depending on
where you want to go. You’ll have better than usual
control over your mental processes and may find
yourself pausing at the threshold, calculating.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). A rainmaker will
bring on the result you need. It seems like magic,
and maybe it is, but there’s skill involved here, too,
and it’s one that you can learn, if so inclined.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). If need be, you’ll win
them over with your charm, but you’d much prefer
to have an offer so compelling that your personality
is a mere bonus to sweeten the deal. To the right
customer you won’t have to sell too hard.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). You’ll focus on those
you admire and become more like them, aligning
your values and rules with theirs. Counterintuitively,
you’re truer to yourself in this process. It becomes
easier to make choices that fit well.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Even the best inner circles
are still not enough to sustain the entire social
needs of an individual. All kinds of intelligence
are cultivated in the act of meeting new people,
especially when such encounters are a regular part
of your life.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). When you’re inspired,
go hard. Drive will count for more than talent,
resources or knowing the right people. A fire in the
belly is a rare gift. It will pay off and inspire everyone
around you too.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Though you’re
comfortable being the leader, sometimes it’s a relief
not to be in charge. Today you can trust the people
around you. You’ll enjoy the relaxed experience that
comes of letting them do their thing.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). As much as you
enjoy people, you still feel restored by time alone
with your own thoughts and rhythms. A break from
the social swirl is favored, as the mood is perfect for
focusing on your intently on your inner life.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). You’ll be gifted
with a responsibility, resource or tool. Perhaps you don’t
quite know what to do with it now, but in time you’ll look
back fondly on today, the day when it became yours.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). There’s a
big difference between existing and living. You’ll
challenge yourself to choose activities to reinforce
the concept. Your favorite activities will make you
excited and nervous. You’ll also find occasion to
reach, cheer and run.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Personal
development isn’t always an expansion of
perspective, and indeed today it will be a narrowing
of focus as you zero in on the one thing that will
make the most difference to everyone involved.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Life is always in
flux, although not always obviously so. Today it
seems like nothing is moving and no one is changing
but of course it’s an illusion. Do not doubt the
cumulative result of small events.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (June 26). Your birthday
gift is a cosmic bulldozer to remove the main
obstacle to the thing you want most. You’ll operate
the machine, which will be more of a learning curve
than a problem. More highlights: providing a safe
haven for someone, earning like a boss and the
thrill of watching a legacy form before your eyes.
Sagittarius and Libra adore you. Your lucky numbers
are: 4, 44, 3, 25 and 10.
Universal SUDOKU
42 Four-award
achievement,
briefly
43 He didn’t defeat
Truman, despite a
1948 headline
44 Reacted to a
morning alarm
SOLUTIONS
47 Cut with acid
49 Unknown poster:
Abbr.
51 Smoothie berry
52 Rents out
53 On the waves
55 Keats wrote one
to autumn
57 Worn-down
pencil
58 Glass of public
radio
Universal Crossword edited by Amanda Rafkin
35 Canadian gas
brand
36 Line
perpendicular to
the xy-plane
37 “Why is the sky
___?”
38 Manhattan sch.
39 Gives (out)
40 Common concert
venue
41 Cavalier Garland
43 Believers in a
creator
45 Gargantuan
47 Smelter input
48 Preliminary races
49 “Live Free or
Die,” for New
Hampshire
51 Printer or traffic
problem
54 “Really?”
55 “Only if you want
to!”
57 ___ or die
(bestie)
58 Moocher
59 Condition that
can be treated
using SSRIs
60 “___ is more”
61 Lax
A9
37 ___ 500
Themeless Sunday 5 by Rafael Musa
ACROSS
1 Sixteen of a
chess set’s
pieces
6 Peak
10 Spotify and
Venmo, for two
14 Song that climbs
charts long after
its release, e.g.
16 Boxing match
17 Possible results
of wearing flip-
flops
18 Guitarist’s chance
to shine
19 Explosive
compound, briefly
20 Last name found
in “gross income”
21 2015 Adele hit
that was aptly a
lead single
22 ___ rally
23 Swiss valley
known for cheese
25 “No need to
introduce us!”
29 Main arteries
30 Result of a good
review
31 Angelic rings
33 “Dynamite” boy
band
East Oregonian
26 “Gentle ... no
need to rush”
27 Slides shown
during a
presentation, e.g.
28 1953 Dean Martin
song full of Italian
words
32 Body spray brand
34 Poseidon’s
domains
36 Poseidon’s
brother
37 Camembert
relative
39 Be nostalgic for
40 Spray paint, e.g.
42 Decomposed
44 Airbnb alternative
45 Tweet
alternative?
46 Casual gaits
50 ___ leches cake
51 Martial art where
a fighter can
score an ippon
52 Greek god of war
53 Insignificant
55 Saints’ and
Cardinals’ org.
56 ___ Paulo, Brazil
HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY MATHIS
MONDAY, JUNE 27, 2022 Pre-retrograde Cosmic Caution
Manipulation only works when the manipulator
is working. The strings must be pulled to animate
the false reality. Without the craft of the puppeteer,
the false reality will collapse into a pile. The truth,
however, stands on its own accord and animates
itself. This cosmic message comes by way of a lunar
square to Neptune just before the retrograde.
ARIES (March 21-April 19). Someone drops
the guard and welcomes you into a wacky, personal
world. Enjoy the tour. Just remember, it’s but a
glimpse. Only the security guards really know what
happens in the museum’s off hours.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Just because an
idea is zany doesn’t mean it won’t work. A bit of
ridiculousness will harmonize with the practical
logistics and offer an effective solution. Whimsical
air signs are balance to your grounded energy.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Teaching is the best
way to learn something thoroughly. In doing so, you
will find out where the gaps in your own education
lie and then fill them in to achieve the next level of
mastery.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). You’re hesitant to get
caught up in big talk. It is often the case that people
who think they know something have less to share
than those who are sitting quietly and watching the
action.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Heroes don’t need a crisis
to prove their heroism. They can be spotted as they
perpetuate standards of human decency in normal
circumstances and for no apparent benefit. You
recognize heroes because you are one.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Although you are in
the mood to risk it all, “it all” doesn’t want to be
risked and will seem to cling to you, begging you to
reconsider. You would be wise to do so. This mood
will pass, and you’ll still have all your resources.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). You’ll communicate and
learn with greater ease, but more importantly, with more
interest in your subject. Your curiosity is not only a boon to
the processes but it also makes your work much more fun.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). The day is characterized
by a smoothness that allows you to move faster and
with a one-track focus. With the concentration of a
skilled ninja, you’ll complete a mission stealthily and
take back the prize to your loved ones.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Even if you
expect things to go right, you’re still grateful when
they do. Your appreciation means more than you
know. So often the satisfied customers go silently
on their way, and only the unhappy ones speak up.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). If the various
parts of your life were represented in tectonic plates,
this would be a day when two plates try to take up the
same space. Tension builds and then it’s released,
with a gentle shake to all sides.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Your focus is
required. Fear may disguise itself as distraction.
Face it instead. What you’re doing is a little hard at
first, but once you get in the swing, you’ll be glad
you didn’t waste time on anything else.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Being tired or
overwhelmed can pull a shadow over your thinking.
Tired thoughts can be less helpful and even less
truthful. But after you’ve rested and taken good care
of all needs, you’ll hear the cheerful truth with clarity.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (June 27). Don’t worry about
qualifications this year, as you’ll pick them up after the
fact. You’ll push yourself to tackle a new accomplishment
and then turn into the person who can do that. More
highlights: accolades from a tough critic, fitting into
a group that has long fascinated you and the sweetest
family time you’ve had yet. Leo and Aquarius adore you.
Your lucky numbers are: 2, 29, 1, 19 and 47.
Universal SUDOKU
SOLUTIONS