Saturday, September 14, 2013 — Cryptics Are In Fashion

Introduction

Having returned from my recent trip, service on the blog should return to normal — for the immediate future, at least.

In today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon, the setters introduce us to a quartet of well-known fashion designers.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

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

Across

1a   {RALPH LAUREN}* — anagram (contrived) of RURAL PLAN HE

Ralph Lauren^[7] (born Ralph Lifshitz) is an American fashion designer and business executive, best known for his Polo Ralph Lauren clothing brand.

9a   P(ANG)RAM — PRAM ([baby] carriage) containing (holding) ANG (director Lee)

Ang Lee^[7] is a Taiwanese-born American film director, screenwriter and producer.

10a   CATERER* — anagram (ruined) of TERRACE

11a   TUR(N|S} IN — {N (first pole; north) + S (second pole; south)} contained in (in) TURIN (Italian city)

12a   TICK|LED — TICK (parasite) + LED (went ahead)

13a   DON|N|A KA|RAN — DON (put on) + N (new) + AKA (alias; also known as) + (and) RAN (campaigned)

Donna Karan^[7] is an American fashion designer and the creator of the Donna Karan New York and DKNY clothing labels.

15a   WIN|G — G (goalie) following (is behind) WIN (victory)

Goalie^[5], an informal term for goalkeeper^[5] (soccer or field hockey) or goaltender^[5] (ice hockey), would commonly be found abbreviated as G on line-up sheets or in statistical tables found on the sports pages of newspapers.

17a   T|APE — T (time) + (with) APE (primate)

18a   {COCO CHANEL}* — anagram (wasted) of COOL CHANCE

Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel (1883 – 1971) — better known as Coco Chanel^[7] — was a French fashion designer and founder of the Chanel brand. A prolific fashion creator, Chanel's influence extended beyond couture clothing. Her design aesthetic was realized in jewelry, handbags, and fragrance. Her signature scent, Chanel No. 5, has become an iconic product.

22a   HAT|CHET — HAT (crown) on (covering) CHET (guitarist Atkins)

Chester Burton "Chet" Atkins^[7] (1924 – 2001) was an American guitarist, occasional vocalist and record producer who, along with Owen Bradley, created the smoother country music style known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country's appeal to adult pop music fans as well.

Methinks this entry would feel more comfortable among the Down clues.

23a   IM(PET)US — IMUS (radio host Don) containing (takes) PET (favourite)

John Donald "Don" Imus, Jr.^[7] is an American radio host, humorist, landscape photographer, philanthropist and writer. His nationally syndicated talk show, Imus in the Morning, is broadcast throughout the United States by Cumulus Media Networks and simulcast on television by the Fox Business Network.

26a   NO|STRUM — STRUM (play guitar) following (after) NO (number)

27a   {A(W)AITED}* — W (work) contained in (in) an anagram (somehow) of A DATE I

OR

27a   A(W){AITED}* — W (work) contained in (in) {A (†) + an anagram (somehow) of DATE I}

In this instance, work is a term from the field of physics rather than the more commonly encountered musical expression.

28a   {CALVIN KLEIN}* — anagram (remedied) of ILL IN A VNECK

Down

1d   REPOT< — reversal (from the rear) of TOPER

2d   LINER — double definition; "baseball hit" [another term for a 'line drive'] & "protective layer"

3d   {HARP SEAL}* — anagram (agitated) of RAPHAELS

4d   AR(MEN)IA — ARIA (song) containing (about) MEN (guys)

5d   RI(COT)TA — COT (sack; bed) contained in (carried by) RITA (comic Rudner)

Rita Rudner^[7] is an American comedienne, writer and actress.

6d   NOT|ICE — NOT (far from; in the sense of 'polar opposite' [pun intended]) + ICE (polar feature)

7d   TRILL|I|ON — TRILL (use vibrato) + I (myself) + ON (performing; 'on stage' or 'on the air')

8d   PROD|I|GAL — PROD (poke) + I ([Roman numeral for] one) + GAL (young lady)

13d   D(ITCH)ING — DING (nick; scratch or dent) containing (acquires) ITCH (desire)

14d   NE(POT|IS)T — {POT (marijuana) + IS (†)} contained in (in) NET (pocket; earn after expenses)

16d   S(HOP) TALK — HOP (spring) contained in (into) STALK (track; follow)

19d   OP(TIM)AL — OPAL (gemstone) containing (worn by) TIM (actor Allen)

Timothy Alan Dick, known professionally as Tim Allen^[7], is an American comedian, actor, voice-over artist and entertainer, best known for his role in the sitcom Home Improvement.

20d   O|RIG|AMI — O (love; tennis score) + RIG (outfit) + AMI (friend in Quebec; French word for 'friend', French being the Official Language of the Canadian province of Québec)

21d   CHI(R|A)C — {R (right} + A (answer)} contained in (adopted by) CHIC (stylish)

Jacques Chirac^[7] is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007.

24d   TI(T)LE — TILE (mosaic piece) containing (inscribed with) T (true)

25d   SE(D)AN — D (leader [initial letter] of Democrats) contained in (riding in) SEAN (Penn)

Sean Penn^[7] is an American actor, screenwriter, and film director, also known for his left-wing political and social activism (including humanitarian work).

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