L.A.Times Crossword Corner

Aug 24, 2021

Tuesday, August 24, 2021, Freddie Cheng

Watch your Tongue! The first word of each theme answer can by "tied" to the word tongue to give us a new concept.

17-Across. Sci-fi fleet leader: MOTHER SHIP. Mother Tongue.

23-Across. Perceptive person: SHARP COOKIE. Sharp Tongue.

38-Across. Indigenous U.S. people: NATIVE AMERICANS. Native Tongue.

47-Across. Uncontrollable person: LOOSE CANNON. Loose Tongue.

And the Unifier:

60-Across. At a loss for words, and what the starts of 17-, 23-, 38- and 47-Across can literally be?: TONGUE TIED. Say this 3 times fast:

Across:

1. Bursting with testosterone: MACHO.

6. RPM gauge: TACH. A Tachometer is the instrument that mesures the rotation speed of the wheel shaft. It is usually measured in Revolutions Per Minute.

10. Border on: ABUT.

14. Aquafina competitor: EVIAN. Expensive bottled mineral water from the Évian-les-Bains region of Southeastern France.

15. Beige hue: ECRU. Shades of Beige.

16. Aussie pal: MATE. Hi, Kazie! I am currently reading Picnic at Hanging Rock, which is an Australian historical novel by Joan Lindsay. I am finding it a bit challenging with all the Aussie terms that I am not familiar with.

19. Vicinity: AREA.

20. New Age Irish singer: ENYA. Enya (née Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin; b. May 17, 1961) was big in the 1990s, but I haven't heart much of her recently.

21. They're drawn in pubs: ALES.

22. Industry bigwigs: CZARS.

25. Displeased looks: SCOWLS.

29. Sweetie pie: HON.

30. "Star Trek" communications officer: UHURA. Hi, Picard!

31. Skeleton component: BONE.

34. Old Testament twin: ESAU. From the Biblical book of Genesis, we learn that Esau and Jacob were the twin sons of Isaac and Rebecca. Esau was the older twin, but he sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of lentils.

41. Hershey's foil-wrapped chocolate treat: KISS.

42. Website unit: PAGE.

43. First color to move, in chess: WHITE. Some chess sets have very elaborate pieces.

44. Prefix with pod: TRI-. A three-legged stand.

46. Drove (around): TOOLED.

53. With room to spare: AMPLY.

54. Many a Dickens child: WAIF.

55. Wise, as advice: SAGE.

59. "Ciao!": TA TA!

62. Greenside shot: CHIP.

63. Burn soother: ALOE. A crossword staple.

64. Backed, with "with": SIDED.

65. __ Christian Andersen: HANS. Hans Christian Andersen (Apr. 2, 1805 ~ Aug. 4, 1875) is best known for his fairy tales.

66. KGB country: USSR.

67. See 55-Down: CRAZY. // And 55-Down. With 67-Across, like one who's been stuck at home for too long, slangily: STIR. Stir Crazy is also the name of a 1980 movie starring Gene Wilder (né Jerome Silberman; June 11, 1933 ~ Aug. 29, 2016) and Richard Pryor (né Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor; Dec. 1, 1940 ~ Dec. 10, 2005).

Down:

1. Viral online item: MEME.

2. Door-to-door cosmetics seller: AVON.

3. Atlantic __, N.J.: CITY.

4. "LOL": HA HA!

5. Buck in a wallet: ONE.

6. Cybertruck maker: TESLA. It is a cool design.

7. Complainer's "belly" ending: ACHER. Don't Belly Ache about today's puzzle.

8. Like fresh chips: CRISP.

9. Drill sergeant's syllable: HUP.

10. Smart speaker brand: AMAZON ECHO. Anyone have one of these?

11. Netanyahu's successor: BARAK. Ehud Barak (b. Feb. 12, 1942) succeeded Benjamin Netanyahu (b. Oct. 21, 1949) as the Israeli Prime Minister after Netanyahu's first term. Barak was Prime Minister from July 1999 until March 2001.

12. Wombs: UTERI.

13. Poke fun at: TEASE.

18. Stadium sounds: RAHs. Cheering can also take place at the nearby bar.

22. Dove sound: COO. Bird sounds.

23. Balkan native: SLAV.

24. Only singer to have a #1 single in six straight decades (1960s-2010s): CHER. Cher (née Cherilyn Sarkisian; b. May 20, 1946) makes occasional guest appearances in the puzzles.

25. Doomed: SUNK.

26. Spiced tea: CHAI.

27. Double play pair: OUTS.

28. Mild reprimands: WRIST SLAPS.

31. Sheep bleat: BAA.

32. Texter's "Holy cow!": OMG. This has become a crossword staple.

33. Once named: NÉE. Today's French lesson.

35. Yacht propeller: SAIL.

36. Initial poker bet: ANTE.

37. Previously owned: USED. Sometimes used books stores call themselves sellers of "pre-read" books.

39. "Outta this world!": EPIC.

40. Victor's shout: I WON!

45. "The Last Jedi" heroine: REY. Rey Skywalker is a Jedi Master from the Star Wars series. I never saw the movies after the first one or two, so I don't know how she fits into the series. In the movie, she is played by the actress Daisy Ridley (b. Apr. 10, 1992).