CROSSWORDS

THE Daily Commuter Puzzle by Jacqueline E. Mathews

ACROSS 1 As neat as __ 5 Annoyingly self- satisfied 9 __ suey;

Chinatown dish 13 Naval detection device 15 Feline sound 16 Sharpen, as one’s skills 17 __ drop of a hat 18 Stupidity 20 Letter for Plato 21 Heavy weight 23 Employee 24 Wails in pain 26 Wet, spongy ground 27 Quiz show answers, often 29 Least risky 32 Expand 33 Eyeglasses, for short 35 Faux __; blunder 37 As slippery __ eel 38 One not to be trusted 39 “The __

Ranger” 40 __-to; brief squabble 41 Pantyhose dings 42 Mrs. Simpson 43 Win back one’s losses 45 Two-colored horses 46 Blood analysis site 47 Gerald & Betty 48 Soak up 51 “Pull __ chair”; words of welcome 52 Wartime captive, for short 55 Victoria’s

Secret purchase 58 Nation whose capital is Accra 60 Body of water 61 Tack 62 Rarin’ to go 63 Peepers 64 Periodontist’s concern

Created by Jacqueline E. Mathews 8/2/21

©2021 Tribune Content Agency, LLC All Rights Reserved. 8/2/21

65 Try out

DOWN 1 “Without delay!” 2 Cauldrons 3 Strike fear into 4 Slangy denial 5 Plays “Wheel of

Fortune” 6 Coffee holder 7 Fancy vase 8 Appear again, as a beard shaved off 9 Fee 10 Tap the horn 11 A single time 12 One’s equal 14 Keep 19 Housetops 22 __ pedestal; lovingly honored 25 Kiln 27 Start of a

Christmas poem 28 Staircase piece 29 Black & Baltic 30 Where to find game results 31 Ballroom dance 33 Clothing fastener 34 Woman’s nickname 36 Chocolate candy store 38 Rudely ignoring 39 Terra firma 41 Flies high 42 Desert illusion 44 Shuts 45 Tootsie __; filled sucker 47 __ up; gets gasoline 48 Qualified 49 Hee-haw 50 “Oh, for

Pete’s __!” 53 Small digits 54 Unsightly growth 56 __ Claire, WI 57 Teacup’s edge 59 Sombrero

ACROSS 1 “Dear __”; advice column 5 Walk about pompously 10 Not quite closed 14 Unusual 15 “To __ own self be true” (“Hamlet”) 16 Powerful wind 17 Cornfield bird 18 Repayment 20 Chop down 21 Short note 22 __ these days; eventually 23 Din 25 Flower garden 26 Bricklayers 28 Kind;

compassionate 31 Burst forth 32 Stoppers 34 Passé 36 Eggy drinks 37 Has a bawl 38 Command to

Fido 39 Third most populous nation: abbr. 40 Loafers 41 Hit hard 42 Prior to today 44 Pasta toppers 45 Dignitary, for short 46 Burn the edges of 47 Disrobe 50 “The Donna __

Show” of old

TV 51 Spring mo. 54 Moving along; advancing 57 Suffix for collect or flex 58 Remove from power 59 Silly person 60 Wingless insect 61 Casual shirts 62 Business magnate Bill 63 Stitched joining

DOWN 1 Curved beam overhead 2 Unclothed 3 Ingredient in baked beans 4 Evergreen shrub

Created by Jacqueline E. Mathews 8/3/21

ACROSS 1 Money for the waiter 4 Central Florida city 9 As dumb __ ox 13 Number of kids for Rose

Kennedy 14 Ford compact car 15 Bad habit 16 Aristotle’s “B” 17 Grant & Arthur 19 “We Three

Kings of Orient __” 20 Offensively bold 21 Uneasy feeling 22 Make merry 24 Lively dance 25 Unwavering 27 Most painful 30 Mae and others 31 Like hot salsa 33 Seize 35 __ and crafts 36 Raven’s color 37 Han __; “Star

Wars” character 38 Prefix for teens or views 39 Practical joke 40 Intimidated 41 Good with one’s hands 43 Elegantly stylish 44 Flamenco cheer 45 __ out; say impulsively 46 Alley cat, e.g. 49 Pulsate 51 Clumsy fool 54 Thriving; booming 56 Musketeers or

Stooges 57 Sydney’s land: abbr. 58 Ball or prom 59 Thompson or

Samms 60 Pegs on the links 61 Miles per hour 62 Beast of burden

DOWN 1 Bleachers level 2 All ears 3 Split __ soup

Created by Jacqueline E. Mathews 8/4/21

©2021 Tribune Content Agency, LLC All Rights Reserved. 8/3/21

5 Emphasize 6 __ song; TV show tune 7 Puerto __ 8 Truffle-like candy bar 9 Mayor pro __; interim leader 10 Chairman’s slate 11 Wyman or

Seymour 12 Furthermore 13 Boating hazard 19 Odes & limericks 21 Mouthwash flavor 24 Klutz’s word 25 Annoys 26 Café list 27 Went higher 28 Paint choices 29 Conspicuous 30 Gladden 32 Front of a ship 33 Tell it like it isn’t 35 Prepares

Easter eggs 37 Lamb __; Shari

Lewis puppet 38 Holier-than- thou 40 Marsh bird 41 Beach surface 43 Gets rid of a tenant 44 Prolonged attacks 46 Good judgment 47 Espy 48 Legitimate 49 One of the

Kennedys 50 Street disturbance 52 Tearful request 53 Package of paper, often 55 Custard ingredient 56 __ number on; treat badly 57 No __, ands or buts

©2021 Tribune Content Agency, LLC All Rights Reserved. 8/4/21

4 Bird __; small animal’s foe 5 __ Gables, FL 6 High cards 7 Profuse; luxurious 8 Start of “The

Streets of

Laredo” 9 Get even for 10 Warble 11 Plays a role 12 __ egg; money saved 13 Org. for Bucks & Bulls 18 Grocery store section 20 Undies, for some 23 Devours 24 School athlete 25 Trade 26 Word with firma or cotta 27 Ailing 28 Blizzards 29 “Hans Christian

Andersen’s

Fairy __” 31 Blinds piece 32 Cooking vessel 34 Corpse 36 Soft cheese 37 Zoom skyward 39 Colonoscopy find 40 Social association 42 Sits in sweltering heat 43 Shop window sign at night 45 Willis or Lee 46 Altercation 47 Loyal 48 Stood up 49 Mouse’s downfall 50 __ in on; target exclusively 52 Shoots carefully 53 Actor Barrett 55 Sullivan &

Bradley 56 Drink served in a cup

The Daily Commuter Puzzle is Sponsored by Sunnyview Nursing Home and Apartments, 1311 E. 28th St., Trenton, MO 660-359-5647

Dear Annie Written by Annie Lane

Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie@creators.com. To find out more about Annie Lane, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Dear Annie: I've been working at the same car dealership for five years, since I graduated high school. When I started, it was just a job. I thought I would do this and then figure out what I really want to do. Then I started to make some money, and I got decent at selling. A week turned into a month, which turned into a year, and here I am at 23.

I got married last year, and my wife and I now have a 6-month-old baby girl. She is the love of my life, and I wouldn't trade her for the world. But part of me regrets that I never went to college before starting a family. I don't want to be a car salesman my entire life.

I'd really like to pursue a degree and study business. I am only 23 and know that I have a long way to go, but the past five years have flown by so quickly, and I want to make sure that I am not on a path I will regret. I love my daughter and her mother. I don't hate my job, but I can't imagine doing this for the rest of my life. What should I do? -- Stuck Salesman Dear Stuck: Car salesmen get a bad rap, but really, it's not an easy job. They have to be persistent, quickthinking and good with people. If you have the finesse to be a good car salesman, you can probably do pretty much anything you set your mind to. Look into seeking a degree online or through a local college that offers night classes so you can continue working and supporting your family while laying the groundwork for a new career path. The U.S. News University Directory can match you to a reputable online program that meets your needs. The skills you've honed over the past five years will take you far. With realworld experience plus a degree, you'll be firing on all cylinders. Dear Annie: I have two healthy, beautiful kids -- one boy, one girl. My daughter is 6, and she is really into reading. She can't wait to go to bed and devours her nighttime reading material. She was reading on her own before kindergarten. She sounds out words and sits and listens and figures things out.

But my son is 4 and can't sit still. I open a book and he gets up. When it's bedtime, he has zero interest in any of the books on his bookshelf. We've tried every book there is, from Dr. Seuss to Eric Carle to Shel Silverstein to Mo Willems.

These kids have the same genes. How can one be so into books and the other want nothing to do with them? -- Reading Rain-bro

Dear Reading: You're raising siblings, not clones. Of course they won't have identical aptitudes.

Although there's no definite "right" age by which all kids should be reading, it usually happens around age 6. It sounds as if your daughter was a bit of a prodigy.

As long as your son is in the healthy range of his age group and is getting a hang of the pre-reading fundamentals (such as identifying letters), he should be fine. Don't give up on trying to get him excited about books, though. Read to him for short periods of time to hold his interest. Pick stories about subjects he loves.

Your son may never be the bookworm your daughter is, but the bottom line is he will go to college knowing how to read.

COPYRIGHT 2021

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4,000

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10 DAYS S&P 500 Close: 4,395.26 Change: -23.89 (-0.5%)

F M A M J J 35,200

34,460

33,720

36,000 35,000 34,000 33,000 32,000 31,000 30,000 29,000

10 DAYS Dow Jones industrials Close: 34,935.47 Change: -149.06 (-0.4%)

F M A M J J

StocksRecap

NYSE N ASD

Vol. (in mil.) 3,643 Pvs. Volume 3,732 Advanced 970 Declined 1508 New Highs 171 New Lows 19 3,384 3,631 1231 2072 108 73

HIGH LOW CLOSE CHG. %CHG. WK MO QTR YTD

DOW 35,106.30 34,871.13 34,935.47 -149.06 -0.42% t s s +14.14% DOW Trans. 14,503.45 14,353.83 14,460.80 -12.61 -0.09% t t t +15.62% DOW Util. 923.62 905.54 907.42 -9.83 -1.07% s s t +4.95% NYSE Comp. 16,714.19 16,575.50 16,602.29 -94.85 -0.57% s t s +14.30% NASDAQ 14,728.74 14,615.85 14,672.68 -105.59 -0.71% t s s +13.85% S&P 500 4,412.25 4,389.65 4,395.26 -23.89 -0.54% t s s +17.02% S&P 400 2,726.08 2,693.84 2,703.67 -2.76 -0.10% s t t +17.21% Wilshire 5000 46,003.00 45,651.66 45,708.00 -295.00 -0.64% t s s +15.84% Russell 2000 2,251.37 2,219.95 2,226.25 -13.78 -0.62% s t t +12.73%

Red flags for flashy IPOs

Robinhood, the flashy trading platform that appeals to many novice investors and has powered some stocks to dizzying heights, has debuted as a public company.

Earlier this year, Robinhood took heat for blocking customers from buying shares of stocks that had been boosted by social media hype. It paid a record $70 million to settle an industry watchdog’s allegations, including that it issued misleading information.

The Securities and Exchange Commission warns of a significant risk of loss in short-term investing based on social media buzz and potential market manipulation. Mobile apps make it easy for small investors to trade. But inducements such as free initial stock can cause problems.

Robinhood took the unusual step in its IPO of offering a large portion of shares to its customers, ideally putting ordinary investors on a closer footing with the financial institutions that typically corner an IPO. IPOs in general can be risky investments, so it’s important to review offering documents and to research an IPO. Useful information includes the risk factors identified by management.

A platform grows: Figures for 2015-18 revenue include only payments for order flow, which accounted for an estimated 55-75% of Robinhood’s revenue in those years. The rest comes from interest on accounts and charges for premium services which let customers trade with borrowed money.

Robinhood revenue Robinhood customers $1.0 bil. 20 million

as of June 30

0.8 15

0.6

0.4

Q1

10

0.2 5

0

’15 ’16 ’17 ’18 ’19 ’20 ’21 0

’15 ’16 ’17 ’18 ’19 ’20 ’21

Sources: Robinhood; Alphacution Research; Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Marcy Gordon • AP