Solution No. 3,275

Sorry for the delay in getting solutions out: it was DVARP meeting weekend and we're in crunch time with a new fare system being proposed for our trains and buses among other stuff.

On to the solution (below the fold):

Link to puzzle: http://www.thenation.com/article/173305/puzzle-no-3275

Themework: “Snap, crackle, pop” is the slogan for Rice Krispies cereal

Difficulty (by standards of this weekly puzzle): Easy

Political content: 11a, 9d, 18d, and a couple of dictators nobody likes at 2d, 20d

Legend: "*" anagram; "~" sounds like; "<" letters reversed; "( )" letters inserted; "_" or lower case: letters deleted; "†" explicit in the clue, “^” first letter or letters, “{“ relocated letter or letters

Across

1a	*SNAP JUDGEMENT	*END ANGST JUMP (anagram indicated by “wildly”)
9a	<PER< | CA | PITA	<REP< (“agent”, reversal indicated by “returning”) + CA (“California”) + PITA (“bread”)
10a	*VOTER	*TROVE (anagram indicated by “relocated”)
11a	<PEEV | ED<	<DE (“Delaware”) + VEEP (vice president: “Joe Biden”)< (reversal indicated by “makes a comeback”)
12a	*SU(BS)ONIC	*COUSIN (anagram indicated by “wayward”) containing (“limiting”) BS (bulls___: “nonsense”)
13a	*LEAD ASTRAY	*TA YARD SALE (anagram indicated by “is off”) Weak entry
15a	RAIL	Double definition
17a	*ROME	*MORE (anagram indicated by “corrupt”)
19a	T(E(LES)C)OPIC	TOPIC (“subject”) containing (“captivating”) EC (“European Community”) containing (“about”) LES (“the French”)
21a	*ROD L | AVER	*LORD (anagram indicated by “dissolute”) + AVER (“maintain”, as in hold an opinion)
23a	<LU(G)OS | I<	<I (“one”) + SOUL (“person”)< (reversal indicated by “in retrospect”) containing (“embraces”) G (“family rating”)
25a	~NEIGH	~NAY (homonym indicated by “sounds like”) If you were solving in a hurry, you probably used “it’s heard” as the indicator, but it’s actually part of the definition.
26a	*ANGOSTURA	*ARGONAUTS (anagram indicated by “mixed”) Angostura is a brand of aromatic bitters, a flavoring used in making some cocktails like the Manhattan. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitters
27a	*RICE KRISPIES	*I RISK RECIPIES (anagram indicated by “recklessly”)

Down

2d	*NOR(I)EGA	I (“the first”) contained in (“to wear”) *ORANGE (anagram indicated by “surprisingly”)
3d	<PLA | C | E MAT<	<TAME (“to conquer”) + ^C^hilean (first letter indicated by “face”) + ALP (“mountain”), (reversal indicated by “ascent”)
4d	UNIT	UN-IT (pun: not “it” in the game of tag)
5d	GR <ANUL< ATE	<LUNA< (“moon”, reversal indicated by “coming up”) contained (“through”) GRATE (“an opening”)
6d	_EAVES	_l_EAVES (“foliage”, omission of first letter indicated by “cut the top off”)
7d	*TITANIA	*IT AIN’T A (anagram indicated by “unfortunately”)
8d	C | RACK | LE CH | IN | _A	^C^ommunist (first letter indicated by “originally”) + RACK (“torment”) + LECH (“Walesa”) + IN (†) + silesi^A^ (last letter indicated by “eastern”)
9d	POP(U)LAR | F(R)ONT	POPLAR (“tree”) containing (“hugging”) U (“union”) + FONT (“source”) containing (“concealing”) ^R^adical (first letter indicated by “head of”)
14d	THEME | PARK	THEME (cross reference to 27a, “rice krispies”) + PARK (“stop the car”)
16d	SCRUB | S UP	SCRUB (“brush”) + SUP (“eat”)
18d	<_MUD | DIER<	<REID (“senate majority leader”) + DUM_b_ (“stupid”, omission of last letter indicated by “cut short”), reversal indicated by “uprising”)
20d	PRODUCE	Pun: PRO-DUCE (for Il Duce: “Mussolini”)
22d	_AD HOC_	minnesot_A DH OC_cassionally (hidden phrase indicated by “covers”)
24d	U_G_L_I_	UnGaLlIc (alternate letters indicated by “oddly”)