Wednesday, August 15, 2012 - DT 26880

Puzzle at a Glance

Daily Telegraph Puzzle Number DT 26880
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, May 31, 2012
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 26880]
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

Introduction

Again today, I got off to a slow start but, once having established an initial foothold, was able to progress steadily through the puzzle.

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.

9a   Minister grabbing time in part of territory (6)

A canon^[5] is a member of the clergy who is on the staff of a cathedral, especially one who is a member of the chapter • he was appointed canon of Christ Church, Oxford. The chapter^[5] is the governing body of a religious community or knightly order • land granted by the Dean and Chapter of St Paul’s Cathedral.

12a   Paper composed by conservationists is evident around church before joint training period (14)

In Britain, the National Trust (abbreviation NT)^[5] is a trust for the preservation of places of historic interest or natural beauty in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, founded in 1895 and supported by endowment and private subscription. The National Trust for Scotland was founded in 1931.

The Church of England (abbreviation CE)^[10] is the reformed established state Church in England, Catholic in order and basic doctrine, with the Sovereign as its temporal head.

15a   Amused reaction or what might partner it around joker’s finale (4)

In the UK, it^[5] is an informal, dated term for Italian vermouth • he poured a gin and it [a cocktail containing gin and Italian vermouth]. I sometimes wonder if it can be partnered with anything but gin?

17a   Reporting of what police investigate in city (5)

Leeds^[7] – a city in West Yorkshire, England – is the UK's largest centre for business, legal, and financial services outside London.

19a   Challenger, perhaps, restrained by left ankle (4)

There have been three tanks named Challenger^[7] in British military service.

• Cruiser Mk VIII Challenger in service during World War II
• Challenger 1 in service from the late 1980s to early 21st century
• Challenger 2 in service from 1998 onwards

2d   Look shown by an elevated figure, we hear (6)

A peer^[5] is a member of the nobility in Britain or Ireland, comprising the ranks of duke, marquess, earl, viscount, and baron • hereditary peers could still dominate the proceedings of the House of Lords.

4d   Proposal by the writer to follow Southern revolutionary (6)

It is a common cryptic crossword convention for the creator of the puzzle to use terms such as setter, compiler, author, or writer to refer to himself or herself. To solve such a clue, one must usually substitute a first person pronoun (I or me) for whichever of these terms has been used  in the clue. 

16d   Secure at sea to turn up following directions in a place for subs? (8)

In Britain, a subeditor might also be referred to as a sub^[5] • the chief sub would be responsible for the look of the paper. Subeditor^[5] itself is a chiefly British term denoting someone who

checks and corrects (the text of a newspaper or magazine before printing), typically also writing headlines and captions • he wrote articles on sport while subediting the Oxford Magazine.

21d   Old actor initially avoided park employee (6)

Stewart Granger (1913 – 1993) was an English-born American film actor, mainly associated with heroic and romantic leading roles. He was a popular leading man from the 1940s to the early 1960s.

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