Saturday, December 11, 2010 - Clothing for All Seasons

Introduction

In  today's puzzle by Cox and Rathvon we seem to get an item of clothing for each season of the year. As an added bonus we get a pair of dueling philosophers - Descartes at 26a and Spinoza at 6d. Wikipedia has this to say about Spinoza, "By virtue of his magnum opus, the posthumous Ethics, in which he opposed Descartes' mind–body dualism, Spinoza is considered to be one of Western philosophy's most important philosophers.".

Today's Glossary

Selected abbreviations, people, places, words and expressions appearing in today's puzzle

Appearing in Clues:

Spinoza (1632 – 1677) - [American Heritage Dictionary] Dutch philosopher and theologian whose controversial pantheistic doctrine advocated an intellectual love of God. His best-known work is Ethics (1677).

Appearing in Solutions:

Amadeus - a 1984 film based loosely on the lives of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri, two composers who lived in Vienna, Austria, during the latter half of the 18th century.

Ariadne - in Greek mythology, the daughter of King Minos of Crete

René Descartes (1596 – 1650) - a French philosopher, mathematician, physicist, and writer who has been dubbed the "Father of Modern Philosophy".

T. S. (Thomas Stearns) Eliot OM (1888 – 1965) - an American-born English poet, playwright, and literary critic, arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century.

James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (1942 – 1970) - an American guitarist and singer-songwriter, who is widely considered to be the greatest electric guitarist in the history of rock music.

La Tosca - a five-act drama by the 19th-century French playwright Victorien Sardou, first performed in 1887. Although the play itself is no longer performed, its operatic adaptation, Giacomo Puccini's Tosca, has achieved enduring popularity.

Marcus Aemilius Lepidus - any of several Romans of that name who held the post of consul from 232 B.C. through 6 A.D.

Miramax Films - an American film production company

Potsdam Conference - a conference held in Potsdam, occupied Germany, from 16 July to 2 August 1945, at which the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States gathered to decide how to administer punishment to the defeated Nazi Germany, as well as to deliberate matters such the establishment of post-war order, peace treaties issues, and countering the effects of war.

Rama - Hindu deity and hero of the Indian epic, the Ramayana.

Rip Van Winkle - title character in a short story by Washington Irving which was published in 1819.

Titania - the name of a character in William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream. In Shakespeare's play, she is the queen of the fairies. Due to Shakespeare's influence, later fiction has often used the name "Titania" for fairy queen characters.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

Legend:	"*" anagram; "~" sounds like; "<" letters reversed
	"( )" letters inserted; "_" letters deleted

Across

1a P(AN|A|MA) HAT - {AN + A (two articles) + (next to) MA (mother)} contained in (in) PHAT (cool)

6a PUPIL - double definition; "student" & "eye opening"

9a TH(ROW) IN - THIN (slight) containing (about) ROW (fight)

10a TEN|AN(C)Y - C (Conservative) contained in (in) {TEN (number) + ANY (whatever)}

Here 'any' could mean 'whatever' as in a response to the question, "Which ones would you prefer?" to which one might reply "Any", "Whatever", or "Don't care".

11a DE(A)N - DEN (study) containing (interrupted by) A

12a {TRENCH COAT}* - anagram (changed) of TECHNOCRAT

14a MI(RAMA)X - MIX (medley) containing (about) RAMA (Hindu hero)

15a ARIA|DNE< - ARIA (song) + reversal (brought back) of END (finale)

17a {LA TOSCA}* -anagram (badly) of ALSO ACT

19a OP(TIC)AL - OPAL (precious stone) containing (split by) TIC (quirk)

21a CAP(RI P|ANT)S - {RIP (Van Winkle) + ANT (colonist)} contained in (in) CAPS (tops)

23a SO|UP - SO (then) + UP (going to the plate; up to bat, a baseball expression)

25a FI(NAG)LE - NAG (horse) contained in (in) FILE (line)

26a RENE|WED - RENE (Descartes) + WED (got married)

27a RE(P)LY - RELY (count) containing (about) P (piano; musical direction, not the instrument)

28a SNOWSHOES - anagram (off) of ENOS SHOWS

Down
1d POTS|DAM - POTS (dope's) + DAM (mother)

2d {N(O)RWAY RAT}* - anagram (ruined) of WARRANTY containing (covering) O (scratch)

Here "scratch" could mean "nothing" in the sense of "He built a successful business from scratch" (i.e., from, or starting with, nothing) or it could be a reference to the golf term 'scratch' meaning a handicap of 0.

3d MOWN~ - sounds like (audibly) MOAN (beef; i.e., complain)

4d HEN(D)RI|X - {HENRI (Matisse) + X (cross)} containing (about) D (barely acceptable; i.e., as a mark on a test in school)

5d TITANIA* - anagram (strangely) of IT AINT A

6d PAN|T(HEIST)S - {PAN (criticize) + TS (Eliot)} containing (about) HEIST (theft)

7d P|INTO - P (chief [letter] of police) + INTO (fascinated by)

8d LA(YET)TE - YET (still) contained in (packing) LATE (overdue)

Here "packing" is used in the sense of 'filling' (fans packing a stadium) rather than 'carrying' (a cowboy packing a gun).

13d S(MASHING)LY - SLY (Sylvester; diminutive form) containing (keeps) MASHING (processing potatoes)

16d {DOCTOR WHO}* - anagram (wrecked) of HOT ROD COW

17d LUCIFER* - anagram (riled) of CRUEL IF

18d AMADEUS - MADE (produced) contained in (in) AUS (Austria)

AUS is the International Vehicle Registration code for Australia, not Austria. However, it is listed here as an abbreviation for both Austria and Australia..

19d ON|T(A)RIO - ON (performing) + (with) TRIO (small combo) containing (around) A (one)

20d LE(PI)D|US - PI (private investigator) contained in (inside) LED (guided) + US (American)

22d P(IN)-UP - PUP (dog) containing (circling) IN (popular)

24d ON|US - cryptic & lit. clue; our burden is an ONUS, and it is also ON US.

Signing off for today - Falcon