Saturday, February 22, 2014 — In the Mood for Variety

Introduction

I didn't discern a theme in today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon — did you? If you did, why not leave a comment and let us in on the secret.

A New Addition to the Blog

You will see a change in the blog today. In the Solution to Today's Puzzle section,  I have reproduced the clues — with the definitions underlined. If you happen to find errors in the clues, it is more than likely due to OCR errors that I have failed to detect.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

Legend:	"*" anagram; "~" sounds like; "<" letters reversed
	"( )" letters inserted; "_" letters deleted; "†" explicit in the clue
	Definitions are underlined in the clue, with subsidiary indications being marked by means of a dashed underline in semi-all-in-one (semi-& lit.) clues and cryptic definitions.

Across

1a   Mad Hatter's sabre-rattling (7)

THREATS* — anagram (mad) of HATTERS

5a   Terribly mad, but before hot treatment for aches (3,4)

{MUD BAT}*|H — anagram (terribly) of MAD BUT + (before) H (hot)

9a   Widens holes in large amounts of paper (5)

REAMS — double definition

10a   Posed with one among Alan's dogs (9)

AL(SAT)IANS — {SAT (posed) + I ([Roman numeral for] one)} contained in {ALAN (†) + S ('s)}

Alsatian^[3,4,11] is a chiefly British name for a German shepherd [breed of dog].

11a   Someone leaving a board is backing up lie about a strategy for investors (15)

DIVER|SI<|FIC(A)TION — DIVER (someone leaving a [diving] board) + SI {reversal (backing up) of IS} + {FICTION (lie) containing (about) A (†)}

12a   Casually moved damaged shade, say (8)

SASHAYED* — anagram (damaged) of SHADE SAY

13a   In class, tell about Williams heroine (6)

_S|TELL|A_ — hidden in (in) clasS TELL About

Stella Kowalski^[7] (née DuBois) is one of the main characters in A Streetcar Named Desire, a play by American playwright Tennessee Williams (1911–1983). She is the younger sister of central character Blanche DuBois and wife of Stanley Kowalski.

16a   Declare something of value on either side of river (6)

ASSE(R)T — ASSET (something of value) containing (on either side of) R (river)

18a   Spoke ill of male in league (8)

M|ALIGNED — M (male) + ALIGNED (in league)

22a   Paint guys add in a moody way (15)

TEMPERA|MEN|TALLY — TEMPERA (paint) + MEN (guys) + TALLY (add)

24a   Make regular name Liz or Dotty (9)

NORMALIZE* — anagram (dotty) of NAME LIZ OR

25a   Jack in center, behind king (5)

K|NAVE — NAVE (center; hub [of a wheel]) following (behind) K (king; chess piece or playing card)

In a move that is rather uncharacteristic of them, the setters have used the US spelling, "center" rather than the usual Canadian spelling, "centre".

26a   Lilliputian Society meeting's summary (7)

MINUTE|S — MINUTE (Lilliputian; adjective meaning tiny) + S (society)

Lilliputian^[5] is an adjective meaning trivial or very small that is derived from the name of the imaginary country of Lilliput in the novel Gulliver's Travels by Irish writer Jonathan Swift (1667–1745), Lilliput being a country inhabited by people 6 inches (15 cm) high.

27a   Sonnet verses established in groups (7)

S(EST)ETS — EST (established) contained in (in) SETS (groups)

Down

1d   Loses patience with insertion of commercial rants (7)

TIR(AD)ES — TIRES (loses patience) containing (with insertion of) AD (commercial)

2d   Examine some shop tools for counsels again (9)

READ|VISES — READ (examine) + VISES (some shop tools)

3d   Second year in continent's old country (7)

AS(S|YR)IA — {S (second) + YR (year)} contained in (in) ASIA (continent)

Assyria^[5] was an ancient country in what is now northern Iraq. From the early part of the 2nd millennium BC Assyria was the centre of a succession of empires; it was at its peak in the 8th and late 7th centuries BC, when its rule stretched from the Persian Gulf to Egypt. It fell in 612 BC to a coalition of Medes and Babylonians.

4d   Treatment of diseases in coastal areas (8)

SEASIDES* — anagram of (treatment of) DISEASES

5d   My jam, for the most part, is awe-inspiring (6)

MY|STIC_ — MY (†) + STIC[K] {STICK (jam; seize up) with the final letter deleted (for the most part)}

6d   Take away bit of trash hauled back (7)

{DETRAC|T_}< — reversal (back) of {T (bit of trash; first letter of Trash) + CARTED (hauled)}

7d   A pad with initial of Italian violin maker (5)

A|MAT|I — A (†) + MAT (pad) + I (initial [letter] of Italian)

The Amatis^[5] were a family of Italian violin-makers from Cremona. In the 16th and 17th centuries three generations of the Amatis developed the basic proportions of the violin, viola, and cello.

8d   Hanson confused by a cry of admiration (7)

HOSANN*|A — anagram (confused) of HANSON + (by) A (†)

There may be other possibilities, but Hanson^[7] could be an allusion to the American boy band from Tulsa, Oklahoma comprising brothers Isaac, Taylor, and Zac Hanson.

14d   Former tennis star with leisure for 1940s military program (4-5)

LEND-L|EASE — LENDL (former tennis star [Ivan Lendl^[7]]) + (with) EASE (leisure)

Lend-Lease^[5] was an arrangement made in 1941 whereby the US supplied military equipment and armaments to the UK and its allies, originally as a loan in return for the use of British-owned military bases.

15d   Single, devoured piece of lasagna in state of disarray (8)

M(ATE|L)ESS — {ATE (devoured) + L (piece [first letter] of Lasagna)} contained in (in) MESS (state of disarray)

16d   Opposite Roman general in the vanguard of 1,000 (7)

ANTONY|M — ANTONY (Roman General) + (in the vanguard of; at the forefront of) M ([Roman numeral for] 1,000)

Mark Antony^[5] (circa 83-30 BC) was a Roman general and triumvir; Latin name Marcus Antonius. A supporter of Julius Caesar, he was appointed one of the triumvirate after Caesar’s murder. Following the battle of Philippi he took charge of the Eastern Empire, where he established his association with Cleopatra. Quarrels with Octavian led finally to his defeat at the battle of Actium and to his suicide.

17d   Stage a new version of a recent novel (7)

REENACT* — anagram (novel) of A RECENT

19d   Energy consumed by changing Atkins diets? (7)

INTAK(E)S* — E (energy) contained in (consumed by) an anagram (changing) of ATKINS

The Atkins diet^[5] is a high-protein, high-fat diet in which carbohydrates are severely restricted. It is named after American cardiologist Robert C. Atkins (1930–2003).

20d   Quality of some wine from New York brought back in rig (7)

DR(YN<)ESS — reversal (brought back) of NY (New York) contained in DRESS (rig)

21d   Butchers about ten proverbs (6)

MA(X)IMS — MAIMS (butchers) containing (about) X ([Roman numeral for] ten)

23d   Heard additional stuff regarding dope (5)

MORON~ — sounds like (heard) {MORE (additional stuff) + ON (regarding)}

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