See the theme (Puzzle No. 3245)

Link to puzzle: http://www.thenation.com/article/168576/puzzle-no-3245

Hozom’s comment: “Following Frank” http://www.thenation.com/blog/168745/following-frank

Hot and Trazom call out some of the signature elements of Frank Lewis’s style which they’ve endeavored to carry on in their own way.  This was something I picked out in their audition puzzle (search on “Cosima K. Coinpott”), and explained in a long e-mail to The Nation’s editors why this made the case for Hot and Trazom to get this gig.

Now, do you agree or disagree that US solvers are too straitlaced about the rules?  Comments are open.

Themework: 100%.

Difficulty (by standards of this weekly puzzle):  moderate.  Usually, the last words in the puzzle tend to be the hardest, but once you get the theme, it finishes pretty easily.

Political content: 7d

solution and comments below the fold

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	SENDS	SuEz NuDeS (alternate indicated by “oddly)
4a	F | RE (E) VERSE	F (forte: “loud”) + REVERSE (“flip”) containing (“infused with”) E (“energy”)
9a	PR (ET) EEN	ET (“alien”) contained in (“interrupts”) PREEN (“groom”)
10a	*TE (LL) ERS	*STEER (anagram indicated by “recklessly”) containing (“around”) LL (“lines”)
11a	EL *LEN DEG <ENERES<	EL (“the” in Spanish) + *LEGEND anagram indicated by (“disoriented”) + <SERENE< (“calm”, reversal indicated by “reflective”) Nice piece of assembly
13a	BE (R) ET	weareR (last letter indicated by “finally) contained in (“cuts into”) BEET (“vegetable”)
15a	NEPENTHE	enshrine PEN THErapy (container indicated by “it holds”)
17a	RE (LENT) ED	REED (“woodwind part”) containing (“in”) LENT (“fast time”).  Clever cluing for “lent.”
19a	NEWER	niNE WERe (container indicated by “inside”).  Could have clued this better, I’m sure.
22a	*EVER (G) R EEN TREES	*REVERE (anagram indicated by “irrationally” + COURSES (“entrées”) containing (lit.) Giant (initial indicated by “seed of”)
25a	WELL S | ET	_H.G._ WELLS (“science fiction novelist”) + ET (French for “and”)
26a	DR | *ESDEN	*NEEDS (anagram indicated by “desparately”) preceded by (“at front”) DR (abbrev. doctor: “medic”)
27a	RE | DRESSER	RE (“in connection with”) + DRESSER (“piece of furniture”)
28a	*EXECS	*EXCESs (omission of last letter indicated by “nearly), anagram indicated by “rumpled”)

Down

1d	*SEPT (EMBER) S	*STEPS (anagram indicated by “clumsily”) containing (“around”) EMBER (“remnant of fire”)
2d	NEE | <D (L)ER<	NEE (“born”) + Latvia (initial indicated by “capital”) contained in (“amid”) <RED< (“communist”, reversal indicated by “uprising”)
3d	STERN	Double definition
4d, 21d	FENDER BENDER	Pun on “whammy bar” and “Fender” (a brand of electric guitar) A whammy bar alters the sound of a guitar by tightening and loosening the strings, “bending” the notes.
5d	*EX (TREME) S	TREME (TV series on HBO) contained in *SEX (anagram indicated by “kinky”: would you expect any other indicator?)
6d	*VELVETEEN	*ELEVEN (anagram indicated by “bats”) containing (“surrounding”) VET (“animal doctor”) The Velveteen Rabbit is a famous children’s book by Margery Williams with illustrations by William Nicholson.
7d	REEL | *ECT	REEL (“sway”) + *ETC (anagram indicated by “convert”)
8d	*EELS	*ELSE (anagram indicated by “slippery”).  That’s another obbious choice for indicator.
12d	*REPRESENT | S	*PRETENSES (anagram indicated by “false”) + depictS (last letter indicated by “ultimately”)
14d	TE (N | DRESS) E	N (“new”) + DRESS (“gown”) contained in TEE (“a shirt”)
16d	*SECRE (TE) S	TreasurE (outside letters indicated by “on the periphery”) contained in (“in”) *RECESS (anagram indicated by “shady”)
18d	L (EVEL) ED	EVEL (Evel Kinevil, famous stuntman) contained by (“outside”) LED (“first”)
20d	~WHEEDLE	Sounds like “weed’ll” (weed [“mary jane”: marijuana] + “will”)
23d	THE | M | E	†THE + M (“one thousand”) + E (fifth letter in the alphabet)
24d	~EWER	Sounds like “you were” (homonym indicated by "")