LA TIMES CROSSWORD
ACROSS
1 Tap
4 Garment that may be draped in the nivi style
8 Buyer’s incentive 14 Hoopla
15 Jeff Bridges sci-fi
franchise
16 Toyota sedan
since 1994
17 Gets just right
19 Silently agreed 20 Places to pray
21 __ de deux
23 Physics quantity 24 Rental
agreement
25 Get off the
partner track?
27 Car alarm
29 Slick
32 Final Four game 35 Yahoo
37 “Thanks, I got it” 39 Handi-Snacks
cookie
40 Have a loan from 42 Like a dragon
egg in Minecraft 43 Jackman’s
“The Greatest Showman” role 45 “__ your heart
out!”
46 Apple computer 47 Siete días 49 Centipede’s
multitude
51 Body of work
53 Firm
57 Chatted privately,
briefly
60 “It’s not really
working for me” 61 Admonition to
bickering kids 62 Electric guitar
effect
64 “Back so soon?” 66 Audrey Tautou
role
67 Long for
68 Vox populi,
vox __
69 Flexor counterpart 70 “Who __ could it
be?”
71 Parka part
DOWN
1 Vatican-related
2 “I Drink Wine”
singer 3 Sandwich on a
bolillo
4 Typical opening? 5 Story shapes
6 Deteriorate 7 What a mood board might provide, informally 8 Return
correspondence? 9 Former Bolivian president Morales
10 Creedence Clearwater Revival hit with the line “I see trouble on the way,” or what can be found in three long Down entries
11 “M*A*S*H” star 12 The ten in “hang
ten”
13 Split __
18 Bella Hadid and Precious Lee, for two
22 Burro
25 Chew (on)
26 Lav
28 Key information
for a hotel guest? 3/28/24 Wednesday’s Puzzle Solved 30 Cubs or Bears 31 Juno’s Greek
counterpart
32 Cry loudly
33 “-zoic” periods 34 No more than 36 Extra charge
38 Advent mo. 41 Yarn
44 Dubai’s fed.
48 Madison in NYC 50 Axle coating 52 Pay to play, e.g. 54 Food Network chef De Laurentiis 55 Less friendly 56 “Canadian
tuxedo” fabric 57 “Dang!”
58 Many a viral
post
59 Level
61 Peck
63 __ de Janeiro 65 Cruet liquid
Dear Abby: My husband is an outdoor enthusiast and has a group of guys he goes hunting with every year. One of them has started coming out west to vacation at our house twice a year and now has followed us to our warmweather winter home.
When he stays at our place, we fix all the meals and he uses our washer, dryer and detergent for several loads of laundry each time. He’s a longtime friend and brings his spouse, with whom I get along well. But as time goes on, their visits are becoming more frequent and longer in length.
Always being the host and entertaining makes me anxious. My husband can’t seem to understand what my issue is when I try to talk with him about it, but I feel that seeing these folks a couple times a year is more than enough to keep the friendship going. How can I get my husband to understand my side without ruining the friendship? Hosted Out
Dear Hosted Out: These people may be friends, but your hospitality is being taken advantage of. Try once more to explain to your husband that their visits are happening too often. However, if he doesn’t accept it, then arrange a vacation for yourself the next time they are expected to arrive. By this I mean, pack a bag and go to a hotel.
Perhaps, when your husband has to assume all the responsibility for these freeloading friends, he will see the light. I can’t believe the wife would let you do all the work by yourself. How lazy and insensitive of her not to volunteer.
Dear Abby: My sister “Maggie” has turned into one of those “crazy cat ladies.” We have been encouraging her to move into assisted living, but she says she’d rather be dead than give up her cats. When we visit her, we bring along air freshener. Maggie has gone noseblind to the smell and argues her house does not stink. My wife will not walk in until after I have sprayed the house.
Among Maggie’s other issues: Her children have abandoned her. We had to hire people to help her out because no one in her son’s family would take the job. When my mother got sick, my wife and I stepped up and gave her 24/7 care. Taking care of my sister was not part of my retirement plan. Her retired son and his family not doing their part has caused a rift between us. Please advise. Above & Beyond In The South
Dear A & B: What a caring and responsible brother you are. If there are no alternatives, it appears you may be taking care of Maggie until her passing. That her son has shirked his responsibility is disgraceful. (It may also be elder abuse.)
Your sister may be unaware of the fact that some assisted living places DO allow residents to have pets. Maggie might be more amenable to moving if you can help her find one. However, if that isn’t feasible, consider discussing this with an attorney as well as adult protective services.
Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com.