Monday, April 14, 2014 — DT 27360

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27360
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, December 13, 2013
Setter Giovanni (Don Manley)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27360]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Deep Threat
BD Rating
Difficulty - ★★★	Enjoyment - ★★★
Falcon's Experience ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ Legend: █ - solved without assistance █ - incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools █ - solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by puzzle solving tools █ - solved but without fully parsing the clue █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by solutions from Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - yet to be solved

Introduction

I found this puzzle more difficult than either Deep Threat's three stars or my bar chart would indicate. Although I solved all but two clues without electronic help, the solving process was neither quick nor easy. One of the two remaining clues was easily cracked with a wordfinder program but I needed to consult Deep Threat's review for an explanation of the other one.

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary is intended to serve as a supplement to the review of this puzzle found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, to which a link is provided in the table above.

Definitions are underlined in the clue, with subsidiary indications being marked by means of a dashed underline in semi-all-in-one (semi-& lit.) clues and cryptic definitions.

Across

1a   Former copper taken in hand about caress and let off (10)

The symbol for the chemical element copper is Cu^[5] (from Latin cuprum).

6a   New introduction for Christmas book in church (4)

I must have experienced a mental block here, as the solution looks trivial in hindsight — but then, they often do, don't they?

My downfall lay in my mistaken fixation that the solution must be NOEL.

Joel^[5] is a book of the Bible containing the prophecies of Joel, a Hebrew minor prophet of the 5th or possibly 9th century BC.

9a   Boast of very small relation (5)

10a   Supply second part of Bible only, being frugal (9)

12a   Represented clients — artist and orchestral players (13)

Clarinettist^[5] is the British spelling of clarinetist.

14a   Syrupy stuff fool fed to little animals (8)

15a   Army officer sending out fifty in groups (6)

17a   Stuff transferred quietly in what could be a loud environment (6)

Piano^[3,5] (abbreviation p^[5]), is a musical direction meaning either (as an adjective) soft or quiet or (as an adverb) softly or quietly.

19a   In time rodents wandering round will be cut down severely (8)

I must say that I always think of "date" and "time" as being quite different — they are certainly different parameters when I configure my computer. However, Collins English Dictionary does list time, along with stage and period, as being synonyms of date^[10].

21a   Retreat gets demeaning somehow (13)

24a   Bring back restriction, say (9)

25a   Confession of trader and model (5)

In the UK, it would seem that a trader is what we in North America would refer to as a merchant.

In Britain, a trader^[2] is someone who trades [deals], often one who owns or runs a shop or market stall, or who trades in a particular group of goods.

Merchant^[5], in the sense of a retail trader, would seem to be a North American usage. In the UK, the term merchant means a person or company involved in wholesale trade, especially one dealing with foreign countries or supplying goods to a particular trade ⇒ (i) a builders' merchant; (ii) a tea merchant.

26a   Approves of old-fashioned excavations (4)

27a   Irritates, having got roguish without any necessity (10)

Deep Threat's hint should say "... followed by an adjective for roguish". It would appear that he has inadvertently turned the adjective into an adverb.

Down

1d   Feeling of discontent when messenger drops round (4)

2d   A Parisian about to get into twist in legislative body (7)

In French, un^[8] is the masculine singular form of the indefinite article.

3d   Shy man’s talent surprisingly discovered in northern resort (6,2,5)

Lytham St Annes^[7] is a conurbation in Lancashire, England situated on the Fylde coast, south of Blackpool. The neighbouring towns of Lytham and St-Anne's-on-the-Sea (nearly always abbreviated to St Annes) have grown together and now form a seaside resort. The Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club is one of the host courses for the British Open.

4d   A beloved, it’s said, must be informed (8)

5d   All right in confinement, the first mum to bring forth (5)

7d   Superintend as a diocesan bishop? (7)

A see^[10] is the diocese of a bishop, or the place within it where his cathedral or procathedral is situated.

8d   Luxury-lover who is relaxed, or else taut possibly? (5-5)

In Greek mythology, the lotus-eaters^[10] were a people encountered by Odysseus in North Africa who lived in indolent forgetfulness, drugged by the fruit of the legendary lotus. Today, the term lotus-eater^[5] denotes a person who spends their time indulging in pleasure and luxury rather than dealing with practical concerns ⇒ she was thinking of taking the afternoon off, but resisted the impulse to be a lotus-eater.

11d   Like some tobacco policy expected soon? (2,3,8)

The only thing that I could come up with on my own was IN THE LIFETIME — which was certainly far from being a strong contender.

13d   Society decayed and harboured bad emotions (10)

16d   Style of cleric always involved in split (8)

18d   Enduring pain south of US city (7)

20d   Are holy folk embracing court performer? (7)

Saint can be abbreviated as either St^[5] or (chiefly in Catholic use) S^[5] ⇒ S Ignatius Loyola.

Julie Walters^[7] [whose picture graces Deep Threat's hint] is an English actress who came to international prominence for playing the title role in the film adaptation of Educating Rita (1983) — a role she had created on the West End stage [West End denoting the London theatrical district]. She is perhaps best known internationally for her on-screen characterisation of Molly Weasley in seven of the eight Harry Potter films.

22d   Quickly use up some of the capacity (5)

23d   Manoeuvre to work at steadily — nothing in it (4)

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