Rod and Bill by Stick Insect

Puzzle explanation

In Theaetetus, Plato cites a maxim of the Greek sophist Protagoras, “That man is the measure of all things” (the translation given in the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations). The ten thematic clue answers had a word for “measure” (according to the entry in Chambers) replaced by a man’s name to form a new word for the grid entry. For 34dn, RECALS was accepted as an alternative to REDANS; although the name Cal isn’t in Chambers’ appendix of Some First Names, neither are Ron (used in 11ac) and Les (47ac). The title consists of men’s names that are also types of measure.

Clue explanations

Conventions: * = anagram, < = reversal

No Replacement Answer Explanation
Across
1   CALM CAM around L
4 dance → Sión ASCENDANCE SÉANCE * around (D + CAN *)
11 portion → Ron APPORTION (POP RATION) *
12   AMOEBAE (AB + AE) around MOE
13   BLOOM LOO in BM
14   ONCERS ON + CE + R(ow)S
16 foot → Ray FOOTLE F + ROOTLE − R
18   SEATO SEA + TO
20   ROTATES ROSETTA *
21   TIDYING DIGNITY *
22 rhythm → Tom ARHYTHMIC (A RICH MYTH) *
25   TAIT A in TIT
26   CO-OPT (O’ + PT) after CO
29   MASH M + HAS *
31   ALTAIR ALT + AIR
33   TREHALA (T + EARL *) around HA
35   COWPATS (STOP A WC) *
38   EAGRE EAGER with R moved earlier
42   USEN’T U + SENT
43 strain → Len RESTRAINT TRAIN in REST
44   LARUM LA + RUM
45   ORCHELS (OR + ELS) around CH
46   NITES IT in NE + S
47 vessel → Les BLOOD VESSELS (DO BLESS LOVES) *
48   TART TRAT with internal letters swapped
Down
1 pit → Brett CAPITA CAP + IT + A
2   APLASIA AP + L + ASIA
3   MOLLA HOLLA with M for H
4   ANOETIC (A + NOTICE) *
5   SPOT-ON SPOON around T
6   CAMP 2 meanings
7   NONET NON-ET(hical)
8   IBERT IBEX with R(u)T for X
9   OARS SOAR *
10   NESTS 3 meanings
15   CIAO CIA + O
17   SOAP S + OAP
19   EDIT DIET *
23   MAAR (Mag)MA AR(ising)
24 means → Chas MEANS-TEST STATESMEN *
27   ORTS O’ + ART − A + S
28   TEA URNS NATURE * + S
30   SLENDER ((Nove)L(ist) + END) in SER
32   APSE (le)AP SE(cond)
34 size → Dan RESIZES RESIDES with Z for D
35 sing → Rob CASING SIN in CAG(e)
36   WILCO W + COIL *
37   AWNED N in AWE + D
39   G-SUIT (IS GUT) *
40   HERL HER + (libe)L(lous)
41   ELSE (L + S) in EE
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