Saturday, September 21, 2013 — Getting in Shape(s)

Introduction

Your might consider today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon to be a bit of a geometry lesson.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

Legend:	"*" anagram; "~" sounds like; "<" letters reversed
	"( )" letters inserted; "_" letters deleted; "†" explicit in the clue

Across

1a   {LOVE TRIANGLE}* — anagram (wild) of GORILLA EVENT

9a   AR|C LAMP — AR ([symbol for the chemical element] argon) + CLAMP (holder)

10a   DI(URN)AL — DIAL (face) contained in (outside) URN (coffee dispenser)

11a   _H|AL_ — hidden in (near the middle) of epitapH ALigned

Prince Hal is a name by which Henry, the Prince of Wales (the future King Henry V) is known in William Shakespeare's plays Henry IV, Part 1^[7] and Henry IV, Part 2^[7].

12a   {SQUARE DANCE}* — anagram (reeling) of QUADS CAREEN

This is an & lit. (all-in-one) clue — one in which the entire clue serves as the definition (read one way) as well as the wordplay (when read another way).

13a   P(S)ALM — S (sparrow originally; initial letter of Sparrow) contained in (seen in) PALM (tree)

14a   EM(BAR)KING — BAR (block) contained in (between) {EM (Emily) + (and) KING (ruler)}

17a   ANECDOTES* — anagram (badly) of ENACTED SO

19a   T(IT)AN — TAN (sun; as a verb) containing (engulfs) IT (the thing)

In Greek mythology, the Titans^[5] are the older gods who preceded the Olympians and were the children of Uranus (Heaven) and Gaia (Earth). Led by Cronus, they overthrew Uranus; Cronus' son, Zeus, then rebelled against his father and eventually defeated the Titans. The term titan today means a person or thing of very great strength, intellect, or importance ⇒ a titan of American industry.

20a   {DRESS CIRCLE}* — anagram (playing) of C C RIDER LESS

The dress circle^[3,4,11] is a curving division of seats in a theatre or opera house, usually the first tier (gallery) above the orchestra (ground floor).

"C.C. Rider"^[7] is a popular American blues song. It was first recorded by Gertrude "Ma" Rainey in 1924, and since then has been recorded by many other artists. A rendition by Eric Burden and the Animals reached #1 in Canada in 1966.

23a   IS|M — IS (†) + M (mad at the outset; initial letter of Mad)

25a   TR(IV)IAL — TRIAL (court case) containing (around) IV ([Roman numeral for] four)

26a   INITIAL* — anagram (off) of I NAIL IT

27a   {DIAMOND MINES}* — anagram (changed) of SO IM IN DEMAND

Down

1d   LE|ASH — LE (Quebec article; French definite article, French being the Official Language of the Canadian province of Quebec) + (on) ASH (tree)

2d   VAC(ILL)ATE — ILL (I'll) contained in (interrupting) VACATE (leave)

For cryptic effect, the setters have deviated from the normal word order of subject, verb, object.

3d   TRANSOM* — anagram (redesigned) of ON TRAMS

4d   IMP(R)UDENT — IMPUDENT (sassy; for British readers, saucy) containing (about) R (teacher's rear; final letter of teacheR)

5d   NADIR* — anagram (new) of DRAIN

6d   LA|UNDER — LA (Los Angeles) + UNDER (beneath the waves)

7d   ANON — double definition; "soon" & "of unknown authorship"

8d   ALLERGEN* — anagram (strangely) of ALL GREEN

13d   PL|AUDITS — PL (place) + (with) AUDITS (inspections)

15d   BISECTION* — anagram (roughly) of ONE CSI BIT

CSI (Crime Scene Investigation)^[7] is a media franchise of American television programs created by Anthony E. Zuiker and originally broadcast on CBS, all of which deal with forensic scientists as they unveil the circumstances behind mysterious and unusual deaths and crimes committed.

16d   IN|TUITION — IN (popular) + TUITION (school fee)

18d   DASHIKI* — anagram (bum) of HID A SKI

19d   THE (FIR)M — THEM (those guys) containing (hugging) FIR (tree)

The Firm^[7] is a 1991 legal thriller and the second novel by American writer John Grisham. It was his first widely recognized book, and in 1993 after it sold 1.5 million copies, was made into a film starring Tom Cruise and Gene Hackman. Grisham's first novel, A Time to Kill came into recognition afterwards due to this novel's success.

21d   EVIL< — reversal of (in return) LIVE (be)

22d   I|SLAM — I (†) + SLAM (harshly criticize)

24d   M|ALES — M ([Roman numeral for] one thousand) + ALES (brews)

Key to Reference Sources: 

^[1]   - The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition
^[2]   - Search Chambers - (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary)
^[3]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (American Heritage Dictionary)
^[4]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[5]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English)
^[6]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford American Dictionary)
^[7]   - Wikipedia
^[8]   - Reverso Online Dictionary (Collins French-English Dictionary)
^[9]   - Infoplease (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)
^[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[11] - TheFreeDictionary.com (Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary)

Signing off for today — Falcon