Starbuck's higher-up? / WED 1-1-25 / 1990s sitcom featuring a bookstore / What you might call a tipsy friend / Stylish tote for an executive / Chocolate money won or lost in this puzzle's game / In the dark about something nefarious / Like the breeds shetland and merino

Constructor: Seth Bisen-Hersh and Jeff Chen

Relative difficulty: Easy

THEME: Dreidel — grid features a dreidel at its center, which (when it is filled) is made out of "CLAY" (i.e. the letters in "CLAY") (40D: Material used to make the object "illustrated" here, in a seasonal song). The four sides of a dreidel are represented in circled squares toward the top of the grid ("ALL," "PUT IN," "NONE" and "HALF"), and then a couple more short answers relate to how and why the game is played (players SPIN the dreidel with the goal of winning chocolate money, or GELT). 

Theme answers:

• SPIN (52D: Take a turn with the object illustrated by the central black squares in this puzzle (leading to one of the four circled results))
• GELT (59D: Chocolate money won or lost in this puzzle's game)

Dreidel sides:

• ALL THE RAGE (3D: Super-trendy)
• PUT IN WRITING (5D: Set down on paper)
• NONE THE WISER (9D: In the dark about something nefarious)
• HALF DOLLAR (11D: Place to see J.F.K.)

(I had no idea about how the game was played, so I looked them up, here you go):

Word of the Day: dreidel —

A dreidel, also dreidle or dreidl, (/ˈdreɪdəl/ DRAY-dəl; Yiddish: דרײדל, romanized: dreydl, plural: dreydlech; Hebrew: סביבון, romanized: sevivon) is a four-sided spinning top, played with during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. The dreidel is a Jewish variant on the teetotum, a gambling toy found in Europe and Latin America.

Each side of the dreidel bears a letter of the Hebrew alphabet: נ‎ (nun), ג‎ (gimel), ה‎ (hei), ש‎ (shin).

Each player begins with an equal number of game pieces (usually 10–15). The game pieces can be any object, such as chocolate gelt, pennies, raisins, etc.

• To start the game, every participant puts one game piece into the center "pot". Every player also puts one piece into the pot when the pot is empty or there is only one game piece in the pot.
• Each player spins the dreidel once during their turn. Depending on which side is facing up when it stops spinning, the player whose turn it is gives or takes game pieces from the pot:
  • If נ‎ (nun) is facing up, the player does nothing.
  • If ג‎ (gimel) is facing up, the player gets everything in the pot.
  • If ה‎ (hei) is facing up, the player gets half of the pieces in the pot. If there are an odd number of pieces in the pot, the player takes half the pot rounded up to the nearest whole number. If hei is facing up and only one piece is in the pot, the player can either take the piece or not.
  • If ש‎ (shin) is facing up, the player adds one of their game pieces to the pot (sometimes accompanied by the chant "shin, shin, put one in"). In some game versions, the player adds three game pieces to the pot, one for each stem of the letter shin (ש‎).
• If the player is out of pieces, they are either "out" or may ask another player for a "loan".

These rules are comparable to the rules for a classic four-sided teetotum, where the letters A, D, N and T form a mnemonic for the rules of the game, aufer (take), depone (put), nihil (nothing), and totum (all). Similarly, the Hebrew letters on a dreidel may be taken as a mnemonic for the game rules in Yiddish. Occasionally, in the United States, the Hebrew letters on the dreidel form an English-language mnemonic about the rules: hei or "H" for "half"; gimel or "G" for "get all"; nun or "N" for "nothing"; and shin or "S" for "share".

• • •

Cool, a Chanukah-themed puzzle that actually appears during Chanukah (which ends tomorrow at sundown). If I've seen a Chanukah-themed puzzle before, it's been a while. Probably should've run this one yesterday or even Monday so as not to conflict with Yet Another Holiday (Happy New Year, btw), but whatever, I don't need another "BALL"-dropping theme, this is fine. Ridiculously easy, though. The center, isolated "dreidel" part of the grid is probably the only zone that might cause anyone any trouble, but if you know the dreidel song (at least the one that I learned in high school French), then you know what the dreidel is (traditionally made out of): "O dreidel dreidel dreidel, / que j'ai fait de la boue / O dreidel dreidel dreidel, / O dreidel, moi, je joue." I somehow remembered *this* version before I remembered the English version "O dreidel dreidel dreidel, I made it out of CLAY..." But I remembered it, is the point, and so that (somewhat awkwardly filled) dreidel part was not an issue. I thought maybe the specific letters in that dreidel section had some meaning, or were a visual representation of something, but I think they're just random letters—that the only thematic element there, besides the shape of that section, is CLAY. Oh wait! The whole section is made *exclusively* out of the *letters* in "CLAY." All Cs Ls As and Ys. That's nice. Doesn't make for pleasant fill, but it's a nice touch, for sure.

Was real uncertain about what this puzzle had in store for me early on. I mean, what am I supposed to think about a New Year's puzzle that greets me with the message: "ALL PUTIN!" I was like, "what the hell is this message? 'ALL PUTIN, ALL THE TIME!? That's an ominous way to begin the year."

It wasn't til I went all the way down to the bottom of the west side of the grid and hit the clue for SPIN that I had any concept of the theme. The answers were going in as fast as I could type, so there wasn't really time to digest much before then. The SPIN clue made me (finally) see the "dreidel" at the center of the grid, and helped me understand why the circled squares made no sense to me (I've never played dreidel in my life, or bothered to learn what the rules were). The theme is well-executed, but what made it actually enjoyable to solve was the fill, which was actually interesting in its own right. Sometimes when a theme is architecturally demanding, the quality of the fill suffers, but not today. Every one of those circled-square answers is at least solid, and NONE THE WISER is genuinely original. ALICIA KEYS shows up looking nice in full-name attire. I like "I'LL BITE," both as a slang phrase, and as a kind of bonus themer: "I'LL BITE that chocolate candy!"

As I say, the puzzle was remarkably easy for a Wednesday. Outside the central "dreidel" part, there were two answers total that gave me pause. First, ELMS. Sigh. This is yet another one of those occasions where the "doubled clue" gimmick (today, [Symbols of wisdom]), just doesn't work as well for one of the two answers. I plunked OWLS down off the "O," but ELMS? Wisdom? Er ... shrug. I guess? They're certainly "stately," and they line streets, but ... wisdom, you say? News to me. The other "???" moment for me today was WORK BAG (56A: Stylish tote for an executive). I have no doubt that there are "stylish" WORK BAGs out there, but lemme tell you, "WORK BAG" is not a phrase that screams "stylish!" WORK BAG sounds like something someone in a hard hat might carry. Practical. Sturdy. I'm not even sure what a WORK BAG is, frankly. Is that like a briefcase ... but for ladies? Hang on... LOL, the first hit when I search [what is a "work bag"] is a site promising "Gorgeously Stylish WORK BAGs!" So either the clue writers did the same search I did or "stylish"-ness is really built in. Interesting. And yes, WORK BAGs are fashionable briefcase equivalents for women. (I just looked at a site promising a "Man's WORK BAG Collection," but everything on offer there was actually called a "briefcase." Weird.)

Bullets:

• 14A: Micronesian island that was the setting for a season of "Survivor" (PALAU) — it's fun to look at crossword history. Shortz had pretty much written PALAU off as crosswordese in the early '00s. It had only ever appeared irregularly, even in the olden days, after 2001, more than seven years or so go by with no PALAU. Then "Survivor: PALAU" aired in 2005. Then, in 2008, Patrick Berry puts it in a puzzle, cluing it as "Micronesian nation that hosted the 10th season of "Survivor"" and since then it's appeared twenty times, including three last year and four (?) in 2021. Looks like only five clues have ever mentioned "Survivor" directly, but there's no question that "Survivor" absolutely elevated the profile of PALAU, and is the reason we see it so often, even in "easy" early-week puzzles (lots of M and T appearances).
• 50D: "Yikes!" ("OH GOD!") — the Lord's name? In vain? In a Chanukah puzzle? I do not care, at all, but I did notice.
• 35A: 1990s sitcom featuring a bookstore (ELLEN) — weird how this entire sitcom (which I watched reasonably frequently) has been reduced in my memory to "that time she came out to Laura Dern!" A major moment in TV history, but one that has (for me) blocked out the rest of the show, including the fact that a bookstore was involved. (The "coming out" episode was titled "THE PUPPY EPISODE" in order to keep it under wraps, and, well, "THE PUPPY EPISODE" is 15 letters long ... come on, constructors, you know you want to)
• 7D: Starbuck's higher-up? (AHAB) — a Moby-Dick clue, obviously. Starbuck is the Chief Mate, whereas AHAB is the captain (his superior, a "higher-up").
• 33D: What you might call a tipsy friend (CAB) — hey, a New Year's Eve clue! Little late, but it's the thought that counts. I thought this answer was going to be some kind of slur, like SOT. CAB is nicer.

Got a bunch of Holiday Pet Pics still to burn, so let's burn 'em.

First up, appropriately, Chanukah Kitty! This is Mixtli. He enjoys sleeping and using random objects for pillows—highly unusual behavior for a cat...

[Thanks, Caitlin]

[For comparison, here's my cat, Ida, using an old pizza stone for a pillow:]

Here are two dog babies, Nanook and Buster, taking turns under the Christmas tree. 

[Thanks, Jim Thompson ... I love your crime fiction!]

Here's Figaro playing with a catnip toy, in a picture taken from his audition reel, I'm guessing.

[Thanks, Stephen]

Here are Baxter and Chinoag being such perfect little gentlepups that I can only imagine treats await them jjuussst out of frame...

[Thanks, Bea & Craig]

And finally, here's Miro, who sees you when you're sleeping and *definitely* knows when you're awake:

[Thanks, Jay]

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on BlueSky and Facebook]

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Rap's Megan ___ Stallion / TUES 06-25-24 / Fingerprint or footprint, perhaps / Piece of jewelry consisting of a single line of diamonds / art of an African elephant shaped like Africa

Hi, everyone, it’s Clare for the last Tuesday of June! Hope everyone had a good month. I’ve been watching so much soccer with the Euros and Copa America, and then rooting on former teammates in the track events at the Olympic trials! My former teammates did very well but sadly didn’t qualify for the finals. (You did great, Dana!) Other events have been super impressive, like the women’s 5,000m race, and I’m so excited to watch the women’s 1,500m, too. As I’m writing this, I sadly had to watch Athing Mu get tripped and fall in the 800m run. But maybe she’ll be chosen for the 4X400m relay. She's incredible (and won gold in the last Olympics in both events at just 19 years old). ​​

Anywho, on to the puzzle...

Constructor: Seth Bisen-Hersh and Jeff Chen

Relative difficulty: Medium

THEME: TWENTY ONE (33A: Card game whose winning hands can be found hidden in 17-, 27-, 42- and 54-Across) — Each answer includes cards involved in getting “twenty one,” or blackjack

Theme answers:

• SUCKING FACE (17A: Sloppily making out, in slang) 
• TENNIS BRACELET (27A: Piece of jewelry consisting of a single line of diamonds) 
• QUEEN ANNE’S LACE (42A: Wildflower with a royal name) 
• RACER JACKET (54A: Sleek leather outerwear)

Word of the Day: ATTILA (13A: Invader of Gaul in 451) —

The Battle of the Catalaunian Plains (or Fields), also called the Battle of the Campus Mauriacus, Battle of Châlons, Battle of Troyes or r the Battle of Maurica, took place on June 20, 451 AD, between a coalition, led by the Roman general Flavius Aetius and the Visigothic king Theodoric I, against the Huns and their vassals, commanded by their king, Attila. It proved one of the last major military operations of the Western Roman Empire, although Germanic foederati composed the majority of the coalition army. Whether the battle was of strategic significance is disputed; historians generally agree that the siege of Aurelianum was the decisive moment in the campaign and stopped the Huns' attempt to advance any further into Roman territory or establish vassals in Roman Gaul. However, the Huns successfully looted and pillaged much of Gaul and crippled the military capacity of the Romans and Visigoths. Attila died only two years later, in 453; after the Battle of Nedao in 454 AD, the coalition of the Huns and the incorporated Germanic vassals gradually disintegrated. (Wiki)

• • •

My first reaction was meh – but I also only saw one of the cards in each answer. I saw “king,” then “ace,” then “queen” and “jack.” Having the answers actually be “king-ace,” “ten-ace,” “queen-ace”, and "jack-ace is pretty impressive. And I liked the first three theme answers. SUCKING FACE is an odd but fun term. TENNIS BRACELET is legit. QUEEN ANNE’S LACE is lovely. RACER JACKET didn’t do a whole lot for me. 

Other aspects of the puzzle were still pretty meh, though. There was more misdirection than I’d expect from a Tuesday. Yes, ATILLA (13A) invaded Gaul, but his attack on Rome is a lot more famous – think Pope Leo the Great coming face to face with him on the outskirts of the city and getting Attila to turn back. ANDALE (44D) is a fine word, but I don’t think of saying that to Goya. Speedy Gonzalez, yes. Goya, no. 

There was a decent amount of Spanish in the puzzle — HASTA, ESAS, ANDALE and OLES. I’m happy I know a lot of Spanish. But I imagine ANDALE, in particular, might have slowed some others. 

The ZIKA virus (6D: Mosquito-borne virus in 2016 news) was unexpected for a Tuesday. I knew this one, but it did take me a while to place and get the spelling right. ENDUE (50A: Provide, as with an ability) is pretty fancy for a Tuesday. The Tuesday form is more “endow.” 

I liked how DESSERT (41D: You might leave room for it) crossed SWIRLS (48A: Vanilla/chocolate ice cream combos, e.g.). I used to get a SWIRLS dessert from Foster's Freeze and loved how that tasted. 

I liked some of the longer answers, too, such as QUEASY, ACL TEAR, GAME ON (though having RAT ON as another answer diminished this one a bit), NINJA, ANDALE, SIM CITY and GOUDA.) Answers like these and COLGATE and DESSERT were just more fun. 

I’m not as sure about PROOFED, RETURNS, TUNA CAN, RARE GEM, WEARIER, and WEEDER. I’m sure WEEDER (34D: Gardener's device) is a category of sorts when you go into Home Depot. But nobody asks for a weeder. It seems more like you’d ask for a hoe or a trowel or a rake or a shovel or something specific.

Misc.:

• PELE (15A: Athlete declared a national treasure by Brazil after the 1958 World Cup) reminds me of how much soccer I’ve been watching lately and how I’ve been rooting for Brazil! Sad that they tied Costa Rica. But maybe they can pull it all off. 
• Does GOUDA (19A: Mild Dutch cheese) make anyone else think of “She’s the Man”? “My favorite’s GOUDA”? Probably not...
• SIM CITY (25A: Pioneering computer game originally called Micropolis) is so fun and interesting to me. The cities are so odd, and the characters do seemingly whatever they want, and it’s all so weird and strange.
• I remember watching my friend playing softball when I was in junior high, and all I knew how to say was “good EYE, good EYE” (56D) 
• I’ve been on a reading kick lately. (I’m at 40 books so far this year!) “Little Women” from Louis May ALCOTT (10D: “Little Women" author) will always be superior.

And that’s all from me! Hope everyone has a great end of June. And go, USA! 

Signed, Clare Carroll, I may not outpace you at solving crosswords… but try me at the 5,000 meters

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]

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Loaf-shaped cake / MON 1-2-23 / Classic song about a soulmate / Ford model that's also a zodiac sign / One born shortly after WW II informally

Constructor: Seth Bisen-Hersh

Relative difficulty: Medium (normal Monday)

THEME: 2(BU) — theme answers contain two words, each of which contains the letter pairing "BU," which gives you 2 "BU"s ... all tied together by the revealer, "IT HAD TO BE YOU" (50A: Classic song about a soulmate ... or a phonetic hint for repeated pairs of letters in 19-, 27- and 42-Across):

Theme answers:

• TRIBUTE ALBUM (19A: The 2005 compilation "Killer Queen" is one honoring Queen)
• BUNSEN BURNER (27A: Chemistry lab device)
• HAMBURGER BUN (42A: Topper for a Whopper)

Word of the Day: BABKA (20D: Loaf-shaped cake) —

A babka is a sweet braided bread (not a cake) which originated in the Jewish communities of Poland and Ukraine. It is popular in Israel [...] and in the Jewish diaspora. It is prepared with a yeast-leavened dough that is rolled out and spread with a filling such as chocolate, cinnamon, fruit, or cheese, then rolled up and braided before baking. (wikipedia) (emph. mine)

• • •

Was a little ho-hum on this one upon completion, but once I noticed that the revealer indicated not just "BU" ("... BE YOU") but actually the pair of "BU"S ("... TO BE YOU," i.e. 2(BU)), I was won over. Conceptually, this was on a somewhat higher plane than most Mondays. Plus the fill is whistle-clean, and occasionally even interesting. Further, there are no other stray "BU" pairs lying around the grid—every "BU" is involved in a themer. This indicates a certain measure of polish and attention to detail, and gives the puzzle a certain elegance, even if most people won't really notice it. The solve itself wasn't terribly exciting, but the revealer provided a good "aha," and with no grievous fill to distract your attention along the way, the strong revealer is enough. No real complaints. I do have a question, though: BABKA—what is it? I mean, is it cake or is it bread. Wikipedia insists it is "not a cake" (see "Word of the Day," above), and Merriam-Webster calls it "a glazed sweet bread made with dried fruit (such as raisins)." But then Google (Oxford Languages) calls it a "loaf-shaped coffee cake," and something called spoonuniversity.com says, "Babka is a dense cake, although it looks a little like a bread." I will say that BABKA was the answer that held me up the most. I had the "B" and could think only of BUNDT. There were more hold-ups than normal for me on a Monday, but then the non-hold-up parts were sub-Monday easy, so ... Medium, i.e. typical-Monday easy, for me.

Other hold-ups included ABOUT US (8D: Information header on a business's website)—just had trouble parsing it. And then I had CLASP for CLAMP (33D: Gripping tool) and could not see ORCHID from the -RC- (46A: Flower that vanilla comes from) (sadly, I don't think I knew that about vanilla!). TRIBUTE ALBUM also took more than just the TRI- to give itself away, which it shouldn't have, but it did. I hesitated over BIG IF, too—once again, issues with parsing. I really like BIG IF (3D: It's very unlikely to happen). Colloquial, in-the-language / current, makes a conjunction into a noun, squeezes two words into a small space—all fun. That should be enough for today. Hope you are continuing (or beginning) to enjoy the new year. See you tomorrow.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]

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