Here is the complete list of clues and answers for the Wednesday December 20th 2023, LA Times crossword puzzle.
ACROSS
1 Athletic brand that shares its name with a big cat : PUMA
5 Cold desert in Asia : GOBI
9 “Shucks!” : DARN
13 Asked for proof of age, say : ID’ED
14 Admissions hurdle : EXAM
15 “Let’s Dance” singer David : BOWIE
16 Like 9-Downs : TO GO
17 Semester : TERM
18 Super cool digs? : IGLOO
19 High price to pay, metaphorically : AN ARM AND A LEG
22 Bell bottoms option : LEES
23 Pudge on an infant : BABY FAT
27 Eclectic musician Brian : ENO
29 Star cluster that resembles a bird of prey : EAGLE NEBULA
32 Oscar nod, briefly : NOM
33 Key mistake? : TYPO
34 “Shucks!” : DRAT IT
35 Letting in a draft, maybe : AJAR
37 Part of the “Law & Order” franchise, familiarly : SVU
39 Blow hard : GUST
40 Mediterranean microstate : MONACO
43 One-named Irish singer : ENYA
46 Tuna roll topping : ROE
47 Health regimen modeled on the cuisine of Japan’s Ryukyu Islands : OKINAWA DIET
49 Cease : END
50 Screamed, perhaps : REACTED
51 “One __ at a time” : STEP
53 Salad dressing brand, and a feature of 19-, 29-, and 47-Across? : HIDDEN VALLEY
58 Guiding belief : CREDO
61 “Out! Out!” : SHOO
62 Made it : CAME
63 “Hadestown” playwright Mitchell : ANAIS
64 Lawsuit basis : TORT
65 Cash for cards : ANTE
66 Bend out of shape : WARP
67 Boo-boo : OWIE
68 Covert convo start : PSST
DOWN
1 Bread with tzatziki : PITA
2 Japanese soup noodle : UDON
3 Grandiose delusions : MEGALOMANIA
4 Really dig : ADORE
5 Have one’s voice heard : GET A SAY
6 Beasts that pulled covered wagons : OXEN
7 Avon product? : BARD
8 Third No. 1 hit for the Black Eyed Peas : IMMA BE
9 Stuffed diner’s request : DOGGY BAG
10 Piercing tool : AWL
11 Kia model : RIO
12 Recent prefix : NEO-
15 “Sorry” singer Justin : BIEBER
20 __ and greet : MEET
21 Get, as a job : LAND
24 “Where do you see yourself in five years” subject : FUTURE PLANS
25 Brie of “Community” : ALISON
26 Heavily inked : TATTED
27 Utterly charm : ENAMOR
28 “I swear!” : NO JOKE
30 Apple Maps tech : GPS
31 Really dug : LOVED
36 Party bowlful from 53-Across : RANCH DIP
38 College, to Brits : UNI
41 Open-air enclosures for some pets : CATIOS
42 Had to pay : OWED
44 Political endorsement : YES VOTE
45 Poori flour : ATTA
48 Lengthens : ADDS TO
52 Yosemite peak, familiarly : EL CAP
54 DIY site : EHOW
55 Tuna roll wrap : NORI
56 911 responders: Abbr. : EMTS
57 Chuck, slangily : YEET
58 Cry from a crow : CAW
59 Molecule in some vaccines : RNA
60 Unit of corn : EAR