A different or unique way of doing, saying, or presenting something that has been done in the past. The new restaurant offers a variation on the theme of the roadside diner, giving patrons haute-cuisine interpretations of greasy spoon staples. When asked why, his answer was a variation on the them of "bigger is better." The anthology series presents variations on the themes of classic genre tropes, such as westerns, Gothic thrillers, rom-coms, and even old cheesy B movies.