Tongue slots, lace guides– those courtesy cuts or patches on the tongues of footwear that allow wearers to loop through when lacing
Try lacing up at first ignoring the slots then doing a pre-walk (light wear around inside) and making some observations. Note where the laces naturally overlap, then re-lace incorporating the courtesy slots. It’s okay for the tongues to naturally drift a little to the sides, but a proclivity of them starting to slowly slide around the arch of your foot is what the lace guides are meant to prevent.
You might find you don’t need to use them at all. I’ve come to prefer the underover method (as shown in photos), where I use the lace slots under, but not over when I cross lace up.
Feet are just Louisiana-shaped bags of bones best enabled by having the sturdy flexibility that wrapping laces partially around them offers. Try out the underover way and let me know what you think.