Monday, May 21, 2012 - DT 26806

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26806
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26806]
Big Dave's Review Written By Gazza
Big Dave's Rating
Difficulty - ★★	Enjoyment - ★★
Falcon's Performance ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ 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 █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog
Notes This puzzle appears on the Monday Diversions page of the  Friday, May 18, 2012 edition of the National Post

Introduction

I actually did this puzzle before doing Friday's puzzle, having failed to realize that the National Post had published Monday's puzzle in the Friday edition of the paper (as today, being Victoria Day, is a national holiday in Canada and a day on which the National Post does not publish). Consequently, now as I finally find time to write the blog, my recollection of the puzzle is a bit stale.

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.

1a   Old wife sat bare (7)

I kicked myself vigorously when my electronic assistants presented the solution to this clue for my consideration.

5a   Imitating policeman leads to your insisting ‘Not guilty!’ (7)

I blew it on this one, opting for COPPING. I supposed that copping might mean acting like a cop. Furthermore, copping a plea^[5] is a North American expression meaning to engage in plea bargaining. Granted, one doesn't plead 'Not guilty', rather one pleads guilty to a lesser charge.

11a   Kept quiet and reticent (9)

The musical direction, piano^[3,5] (abbreviation p^[5]), meaning either soft or quiet (as an adjective) or softly or quietly (as an adverb) is immediately followed by ...

12a   Instrument loudly followed by another? (5)

... the musical direction for loud, forte (abbreviation f)^[5].

17a   Somehow drain mere to reveal what’s left (9)

Mere^[5] is a British (and chiefly literary word) meaning a lake or pond • the stream widens into a mere where hundreds of geese gather. The word should actually be fairly familiar to those from the Ottawa area as it appears in the name Kingsmere, the estate of former Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King.

25a   Little change in great desire for modelling (7)

Another instance which elicited a well-deserved kick. I really was becoming quite bruised at this point.

26a   At college, degree brings advance in status (7)

In Britain, up^[5] means at or to a university, especially Oxford or Cambridge • they were up at Cambridge about the same time.

27a   Pleasure from French kissing conspicuous person (7)

De^[8] is a French preposition meaning 'from'.

2d   Starter missing from meal up at high table (7)

Another kick – yet more bruises!

3d   Poles seen in Ely maybe, making impression (5)

A see^[5] is the place in which a cathedral church stands, identified as the seat of authority of a bishop or archbishop. A diocese^[5] is a district under the pastoral care of a bishop in the Christian Church. The Diocese of Ely^[5] is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury, headed by the Bishop of Ely, who sits at Ely Cathedral in the city of Ely.

5d   Composer died in prison? (5)

John Cage^[7] (1912 – 1992) was an American composer, music theorist, writer, and artist. Cage is perhaps best known for his 1952 composition 4′33″, which is performed in the absence of deliberate sound; musicians who present the work do nothing aside from their presence for the duration specified by the title. The content of the composition is not "four minutes and 33 seconds of silence," as is sometimes assumed, but rather the sounds of the environment heard by the audience during performance.

14d  Twitter about winter in France, and what one might be doing (9)

Hiver^[8] is the French word for 'winter'.

20d   Clegg’s first to be taken in by new leader’s broadcast (7)

Nick Clegg^[7] is the British Liberal Democrat Leader since 2007 and currently the Deputy Prime Minister and Lord President of the Council (with special responsibility for political and constitutional reform) in the British coalition government of which David Cameron is the Prime Minister.

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)

Signing off for today - Falcon