Crossword Clue: Muscle used for tasting
Here's the answer to the Muscle used for tasting crossword clue, with an explanation and where it has appeared.
Definition & answer: TONGUE
TONGUE solves the clue "Muscle used for tasting". Spanning 6 letters (3 vowels, 3 consonants), it begins at T and ends at E. Like most crossword fill, it lives at the intersection of two words, so a single confirmed crossing letter frequently reveals the whole entry.
Origin & meaning
The tongue is a muscular organ essential for tasting, swallowing, and forming speech. The idea that it has fixed 'taste zones' is a myth; taste receptors for all flavors are spread across its whole surface.
Common usage
Tongue turns up often in crosswords because of that letter mix. Words like TONGUE interlock cleanly with longer entries, so constructors reach for them to make a grid fit together without awkward clashes. Given a 6-square slot and a crossing letter or two, it's usually quick to confirm.
Crossword trivia
At 6 letters, TONGUE shows up in daily mini and themed puzzles far more than longer, obscure words. It's the kind of entry worth memorizing — the more common short words you know cold, the faster you solve.
Stuck on this clue?
If this clue won't come, leave it and fill the answers that cross it. Once a couple of TONGUE's letters are locked by neighboring words, the entry tends to reveal itself. Crossings beat staring at a clue every time.
This clue in different puzzles
Setters vary how they clue TONGUE — sometimes with a straight dictionary definition, sometimes with wordplay, a pun, or a fill-in-the-blank — but the answer itself stays the same. Learning to spot the answer behind the disguise is a core crossword skill.
Example sentences
- "I second-guessed it, but the crossing answers confirmed TONGUE was right."
- "I had the crossing letters, so writing TONGUE into the grid took no time at all."
- "Tongue is the kind of answer that clicks the moment you spot one letter."