STAR SIGNS

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Theguy in the bright red suit knowswho has been naughty or nice. This isn’t a good time to insist on having your own way. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Getyour balance before you walkthe tightrope. Your focus could be riveted on entertainment and playtime putting the job,business, or work schedule in second place. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): The spirit of giving is in the air. Itwon’t hurt to be a bit moregenerous and open-minded.You can give in to someone’ssincere and honest request without losing face. CANCER (June 21-July 22):When it is time for the stock-ings to be hung by the chimneywith care you may be the one called upon to hammer in thenails. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): If youput a business matter on theback burner it may need to bejump-started after the holi-days. Social events may gnawaway at your time, but rightnow your business sense is bet-ter than usual. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):Spend some relaxing hourswith family members or other familiar faces. It is possible that the generous holiday moodrubs off on co-workers who de-serve your attention.LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Ride the see-saw up and down. If you are torn two ways it maybe wise to stop and reconsider. Your ambivalence might becentered on making a large purchase. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):Be tough enough. You aren’ta marshmallow that yields atthe slightest pressure. You arecapable of adopting a tough butreasonable demeanor whencircumstances call for it. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec.21): Dispel fears by taking posi-tive actions. An imp of uncer-tainty might stir up mischief orjeopardize a close relationship.Take determined steps to put everything in order. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):You may be inundated by ad-vertising and offers, or some-one’s last-minute request. Youhave the wisdom to know the difference between genuinevalue and passing fads.AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):Vacations can be vexing. Abusiness project may end up ona long hiatus unless you spendextra time on it now. Your timemay be occupied by financialand work-related tasks, leavingyou outside the social loop.PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):Don’t backtrack or have re-grets. Remain content with your present choices and de-cisions. Impulsive last-minutechanges could be more troublethan they are worth. IF DECEMBER 21 IS YOURBIRTHDAY: You could feel asurge of ambition throughoutthe next two to three weeks, but may wait until the summerto put your ideas into motion.You are ready to fight againstall odds to obtain whatever youwant in January.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2015

— Jeraldine Saunders

ACROSS 1 Spoil 4 Singing Pearl 10 Ski lift 14 Time we

live in 15 Fit for

farming 16 Sacred

ceremony 17 Gridlock 19 Taj Mahal site 20 Calligraphy

line 21 Of words 23 Nirvana 27 Eur. nation 28 Bashful’s

brother 31 Disney’s

middle name 33 Archaic verb

form 36 Gold in

Guadalajara 37 360-ed

the hole 39 Hitchcock

thriller, “__ Window”

40 Tahlequah, OK school

41 Dominant tennis player of the ’90s

43 “For Love” author Miller

44 Cautionary word

46 Part of FDR 47 Moose’s

cousin 48 Mural

starter? 50 Drive back 51 MD and

ME, e.g. 52 Kennel

sounds 54 Myrrh,

for one 56 Maple seeds 59 Armored

vehicles 63 Gulf of the

Mediterranean 64 Rammer

68 Go up and down

69 Banished 70 Take a

load off 71 In a bit 72 Essential

amino acid 73 Bikini

bandeau

DOWN 1 Gosh darn! 2 Baddie of

lore 3 Shred 4 Puzzlers 5 Onassis,

to pals 6 End of man

or card? 7 Pres.

after JFK

8 Israeli carrier

9 Neighbor of Saudi Arabia

10 Backstabber 11 Honchos 12 Razor choice 13 Genuine 18 White lie 22 Marked,

as a ballot 24 Epic war

story 25 Cook just

below boiling 26 Embroidery

demo 28 Old comic-

strip boy 29 Welles of

fi lmdom 30 Part of

Ireland

32 Mexican shawl

34 __ Ste. Marie 35 Diffi cult

journeys 38 Polonius,

Laertes, et al. 42 Seclusion 45 Palace at

Versailles 49 IRS month 53 Sub-Saharan

region 55 Columnist

Hentoff 56 Forage crop

57 “East of Eden” twin

58 Lolita-ish 60 Crash-

site grp. 61 Dullea of

“2001: A Space Odyssey”

62 Ms. from Cadiz

65 South Ameri-can sloths

66 Half of MCII 67 Hogan or

Franklin

Answers to all of today’s puzzles are on the comics pages. The New York Times crossword and the bridge column appear in the classifi eds. See A1 index for page number.

12/21/15

A DAILY CROSSWORD

PHOEBE & HER UNICORN

ADAM@HOME

HAGAR THE HORRIBLE

SUDOKU PUZZLEComplete the grid so that every row, column and 3x3 boxcontains every digit from 1 to 9 inclusively.

DAILY JUMBLE