ACROSS 1 Leafy side

dishes 7 “Marriage

Story” Oscar winner Laura

11 Type of therapy for people with autism: Abbr.

14 2017 skating biopic

15 Oregon Trail animals, once

16 Mire17 *Primate

exhibit19 Disapproving

noise20 Spice Girl B

or C21 Afro-Brazilian

dance22 “Little Women”

sister23 Site that

prohibits the selling of souls

25 “Respect your ___!”

27 Animal that plays dead

30 *Matcha, for instance

32 Park, e.g., in NYC

33 City where pesto originated

35 In any way36 Whiskey

flavoring38 Nary a soul40 Peace Prize city41 Plot ___

(protagonist’s “protection”)

43 Assail45 Casual shirt46 *Have mercy48 “Mister ___

Neighborhood”50 Conundrum51 Journalist Ifill52 Group of

performers53 City near Dallas55 Poke bowl

tuna58 Telecom letters

separated by an &

59 *“Shocker!”62 “To Kill a Mock-

ingbird” author

63 “Sure about that?”

64 Hairdo whose “business in the front, party in the back” description hints at what can follow the two words in each starred clue’s answer

65 New Deal prez66 Oscar-winning

director Chloe67 Arranges,

as hair

DOWN 1 Kind of card in

a phone 2 Molecule

component 3 Word before

“wolf” or “Star” 4 Often-rolled

joints 5 Good ___

Young (hair color brand)

6 Concludes a prayer, maybe

7 Apt rhyme for “gloom”

8 Jumping for joy

9 Transaction at a flea market

10 Washington-to-Syracuse dir.

11 Lingering flavor

12 Successful book

13 Word hidden in “Tutankhamun”

18 Stable staple22 Box in

Japanese cuisine

24 Creepy-crawly26 Grp. that

regulates LSD27 Dads28 Wasn’t cool

enough?29 Kraken or

Scylla30 Like

undercooked brownies

31 Soothing succulents

34 Feeling of longing for the Before Times

37 Namely39 Songs stuck in

people’s heads42 D&D, e.g.44 Lower-body

ring site47 Mischievous49 “Far out!”51 Bearded

antelope

52 Baby whale54 “___ your

other question ...”

56 “The ___ We Climb” (Amanda Gorman poem)

57 “Got it”59 URL ender for

a company60 Place (on)61 UFO

occupantsANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

UNIVERSAL CROSSWORD

Mull It Over by Rebecca Goldstein and Rachel Fabi 12/20

Dear Abby: I have been dating “Mark” for 18 months. Four months ago, his 17-year-old daughter, “Hayley,” started disliking me — my dog, my kids, anything having to do with me. She forbids me from going to Mark’s house when she’s there and has an emo-tional meltdown every time we see each other. She has major episodes whenever my name is mentioned and has become violent with her sister, “Lily,” Mark and me.

Last night, Lily told Hayley my kids and I were invited over for dinner (Hayley is going to be gone for a football game), and Hayley accused Lily of “ruining their family” for lik-ing me. Mark had to separate them to protect his younger daughter.

The problem is, there are never any consequences for Hayley’s behavior. Mark keeps telling me she needs “time.” I have tried to end the relation-ship, but Mark insists we just need to stick it out. We had been talking about moving in together before Hayley went into this phase. Now every-thing is on pause, and our relationship has taken 10 steps backward.

How can I get over this and become comfortable rather than upset in our relationship? He keeps promising me he will make changes, but he doesn’t. Nothing is moving forward. Do I walk away or wait it out? — No Progress in Iowa

Dear No Progress: That Mark is unable to assert him-self with Hayley is, to say the least, regrettable.

If you haven’t already done so, “suggest” to Mark that fam-ily counseling could help him get to the root of what has caused Hayley’s abrupt change of attitude. From what you have described, she may have severe emotional problems that require professional help.

Dear Abby: Occasionally when my husband goes run-ning, I drop him off at the park while I do the grocery shop-ping. We agree to meet back at the drop-off spot in one hour. Occasionally, I’m late by maybe five minutes, and certainly no more than eight or nine. When this happens, my husband gets extremely angry, although the very first thing I do is apologize for being late.

Sometimes the grocery store line is long or there’s traffic in town. When he gets angry, he says, “Why can’t you do this simple thing?” and rants on and on despite my apologies. I never intend to be late; it hap-pens only one out of five times. Besides, I’m doing the shop-ping, which benefits us both.

It hurts me when he does this and I tell him so. Honestly, I feel it is verbal abuse. We are self-employed and work together. Our relationship is generally more or less OK. What are your thoughts? — Unappreciated in California

Dear Unappreciated: My “thought” is that your impatient and immature husband should provide his own transportation if he wants to go running in the park rath-er than berate you for things that are beyond the control of his chauffeur and grocery shopper.

DEAR ABBY

Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

Teen does not like dad’s significant other

JEANNE PHILLIPS

WORD GAME

1 beats (6) ___________2 fi sh with a prehensile tail (8) ___________3 brashly conceited (5) ___________4 put cargo away (4) ___________5 reduced the velocity of (11) ___________6 residents of U.K.’s capital (9) ___________7 in sequence (10) ___________

Saturday’s Answers: 1. TIPTOED 2. COMPLEXES 3. EAGLET4. KATHY 5. STARSKY 6. SIBELIUS 7. BUTTER

Find the 7 words to match the 7 clues. The numbers in parentheses represent the number of letters in each solution. Each letter combination can be used only once, but all letter combinations will be necessary to complete the puzzle.

CO

ERA

TED

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ST

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DON

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THR

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IVE

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Blue

Ox

Fam

ily G

ames

, Inc

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ist.

by A

ndre

ws

McM

eel

CLUES SOLUTIONS

12/20

Each row and each column must contain the numbers 1 through 6 without repeating.

The numbers within the heavily outlined boxes, called cages, must combine using the given operation (in any order) to produce the target numbers in the top-left corners.

Freebies: Fill in single-box cages with the number in the top-left corner.

Ken

Ken

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2021

Ken

Ken

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tion

ww

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12-2

0-21

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Formulate ideas and imple-ment change. Don’t wait for others to do things for you or take charge of your life. Look for what moves you, and focus on using your skills masterfully. You will excel. Put your energy where it counts.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): You’ll meet with opposi-tion if you are insistent on doing everything your way. A little compromise will go a long way when dealing with someone who can influence the outcome. Choose your battles wisely, and focus on honoring promises. 2 stars

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Spend more time nurturing relationships and taking care of your work responsibilities, and you will feel confident moving forward. Knowing you can fin-ish what you start and handle personal matters without a hitch will put your mind at ease. 4 stars

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Don’t make an emotional financial move. Iron out any foreseeable problems before you jump into a joint venture. A sincere attitude and an open mind will help you develop a workable plan that can easily fit into your schedule. 3 stars

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Address issues that concern others. Offer suggestions to encourage others to take care of their responsibilities, leaving you more time to address prob-lems directly linked to your personal life and meaningful relationships. R3 stars

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Stop overthinking and analyzing; start enjoying what life has to offer. Worrying about things you cannot change is a waste of time. Reach out to people who lift your spirits and put a smile on your face. 3 stars

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Trust what’s tried and true. Someone will mislead you if given a chance. Concentrate on personal growth, physical improvement and altering your lifestyle to suit your needs bet-ter. Do your own thing. 4 stars

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): An emotional matter will esca-late if you cannot compromise or come to terms with what others want to do. Take care of responsibilities on your own to avoid interference and inconve-nience. 2 stars

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Gather information, and pursue what you want to do. Touch base with people who make you think, and offer

helpful suggestions. Limit your spending, drinking and indul-gence. 5 stars

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Make changes that will help you navigate your way to stardom. Select the people and the path that feel most comfortable, and nothing will stand between you and getting what you want. 3 stars

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Share memories and dreams with the people you love, and you’ll find common ground that will encourage better relationships. Put in extra time if it will help get you closer to the goal you set for yourself. 3 stars

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Say what’s on your mind, and deal with unfinished busi-ness. A responsible attitude and quick pace will diminish any doubt others may have regard-ing your ability to get things done. 3 stars

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Handle situations unique-ly, and you’ll make an impres-sion on someone influential. Enforcing positive change will show your ability to take charge and live up to your promises. 5 stars

HOROSCOPE FOR DECEMBER 20

By Eugenia Last

PREVIOUS SOLUTION

Directions: Complete the gridso that every row, column and3x3 box contains every digitfrom 1 to 9 inclusively.

SUDOKU