HOROSCOPE

Horoscope.com

Wednesday, March 8, 2023

ARIES — Your laziness isn’t making it easy to get out of bed, Aries. In fact, all you may want to do today is absolutely nothing. Unfortunately, this may not be possible. Whether it is or not, you can make the best of this feeling as long as you keep yourself in the right frame of mind. Find the element of fun in everything you do, including your work.

TAURUS — You may butt heads with someone who’s equally unwilling to budge, Taurus. Use this conflict as a lesson in perspective. Understand the motivation of the opposite side. The life lesson you may need to learn probably has to do with discipline and the need for honest sweat from your brow.

GEMINI — You may run into roadblocks today, Gemini, but don’t worry. These are things you are capable of working around. The tricky part of the situation is that none of these blocks is likely to budge, and you may have absolutely no understanding of why they’re there. Try not to take this barricade personally.

CANCER — Your mind is sharp today, and your willingness to work is equally strong, Cancer. Use this powerful combination of forces to your full advantage. You will find that your brain is like a powerful steel trap. There is very little that will escape your attention.

LEO — You may get out of bed with a jolt, Leo, indicative of the fact that there are forces prodding you from almost every direction. It may seem like you’re in high demand, so do your best to appease those who need your attention. The key for you is not to get overwhelmed to the point where you can no longer function at all.

VIRGO — It isn’t a good idea to blame your troubles on others, Virgo. The only one that you really have to blame is you. You will find that your mind is active today and that it might send you around in circles unless you make a conscious effort to slow it down and get it going on the right path. Deal with the facts of the situation instead of the emotions that may arise from it.

LIBRA — Today it may seem like you’re trapped in a power struggle that you can’t get out of, Libra. The problem is that this struggle may have very little to do with you and your actions. There’s a strong, limiting force that is asking you to slow down. Try your best not to get involved with conflicts that don’t concern you.

SCORPIO — Your solid, grounded, and steady approach may be challenged today, Scorpio. Someone with a strong ego could punch holes in the plan you’ve so carefully laid out. Try to stick with the facts and do your best not to let this turn into some sort of popularity contest. Be humble and direct. Try not to be too emotional or sensitive.

SAGITTARIUS — Take care that your self-esteem doesn’t depend on what other people tell you, Sagittarius. One minute a bit of flattery may send you high as a kite, and the next minute some criticism may have you feeling down in the dumps. Do your best to not let others blow you up and then deflate you as if you’re nothing but a balloon.

CAPRICORN — Your selfesteem should be good now, Capricorn. You will find that you can make great strides on long-term projects. This is a good day to put your nose to the grindstone and get to work. There’s an extra bit of productive force in the day that will help you achieve just about anything you set your mind to.

AQUARIUS — You may be a bit aggravated today, Aquarius. People seem to be more of a hindrance than a help to you. Don’t be too accusatory until you make sure that you’re operating honestly and productively. You may automatically go into defensive mode and end up accusing someone of the very thing that you’re guilty of.

PISCES — You have a unique opportunity to review plans and foundations that you’ve recently put into place, Pisces. As carpenters say, “Measure twice and cut once.” This is a key time to review your plans and make sure your structure is secure. If there’s any doubt about what you’ve completed so far, consult someone whose expertise you trust.

Daily Bridge

By FRANK STEWART

Tribune Content Agency

Wednesday, March 8, 2023

Cy the Cynic says that if you want to kill time, you might try working it to death. But some players are lazy; they are content to let contracts play themselves.

Today’s North-South might have stolen nine tricks at 3NT. Against five clubs, West led the jack of hearts, and South took the ace, drew trumps with the A-K and led a spade. He hoped West would foolishly rise with the ace, but West played low. Dummy’s king won, but West got the jack and ace later, plus a diamond.

South’s play was lazy. Could you do better?

End Play

South can take the ace of trumps at Trick Two, then lead a diamond, preparing an end play. As the cards lie, East can’t gain by putting up the king, so West captures South’s queen and leads another heart. South wins, leads a trump to dummy, ruffs a diamond, ruffs his last heart in dummy and ruffs a diamond.

South then leads his queen of spades at the ninth trick. West can’t gain by ducking, and if he takes the ace, he is end-played, forced to lead from his jack.

DAILY QUESTION

You hold:

7 5 4 2. You open one club, and your partner responds one

Sudoku

Codeword Puzzle

INSTRUCTIONS

Fill in the grid so every row, every column and every 3-by-3 grid contains the digits 1 through 9. that means that no number is repeated in any row, column or box. Sudoku puzzles appear on the Diversions page Monday through Saturday.

Crossword Puzzle

Answers to previous CODEWORD

How to play Codeword

Codeword is a fun game with simple rules, and a great way to test your knowledge of the English language. Every number in the codeword grid is ‘code’ for a letter of the alphabet. Thus, the number 2 may correspond to the letter L, for instance. All puzzles come with a few letters to start. Your first move should be to enter these letters in the puzzle grid. If the letter S is in the box at the bottom of the page underneath the number 2, your first move should be to find all cells numbered 2 in the grid and enter the letter S. Cross the letter S off the list at the bottom of the grid. Remember that at the end you should have a different letter of the alphabet in each of the numbered boxes 1- 26, and a word in English in each of the horizontal and vertical runs on the codeword grid.

Puzzle

spade. What do you say?

ANSWER: No second bid is ideal. You have almost enough strength for a jump to three clubs, but most players would want a stronger suit for that action. A rebid of two clubs might work out. I would choose a more encouraging raise to two spades. Since partner did not respond in a red suit, he is likely to have five or more spades.

South dealer

Both sides vulnerable