Friday, April 1, 2016 — DT 27956

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27956
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Setter Jay (Jeremy Mutch)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27956]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By 2Kiwis
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

Although Jay has upped the difficulty level a notch from yesterday, this is still far from a strenuous workout.

I invite you to leave a comment to let us know how you fared with 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.

Primary indications (definitions) are marked with a solid underline in the clue; subsidiary indications (be they wordplay or other) are marked with a dashed underline in all-in-one (&lit.) clues, semi-all-in-one (semi-&lit.) clues and cryptic definitions. Explicit link words and phrases are enclosed in forward slashes (/link/) and implicit links are shown as double forward slashes (//). Definitions presented in blue text are for terms that appear frequently.

Across

1a   Half a day with university intellectual /is/ of great importance (10)

6a   Dog in film that is missing // girl (4)

Lassie^[7] is a fictional female collie dog character created by Eric Knight in a short story expanded to novel length called Lassie Come-Home. Published in 1940, Knight's novel was filmed by MGM in 1943 as Lassie Come Home with a dog named Pal playing Lassie. Pal then appeared with the stage name "Lassie" in six other MGM feature films through 1951. Pal's owner and trainer Rudd Weatherwax then acquired the Lassie name and trademark from MGM and appeared with Pal (as "Lassie") at rodeos, fairs, and similar events across America in the early 1950s. In 1954, the long-running, Emmy winning television series Lassie debuted, and, over the next 19 years, a succession of Pal's descendants appeared on the series.

Those who are familiar with Lassie only from the television series will no doubt be surprised to learn that the original story was set in Yorkshire, England and not in the US. 

9a   It sends us off to protect area // with no help (10)

10a   Way of paying a // final passage (4)

In music, a coda^[5] is the concluding passage of a piece or movement, typically forming an addition to the basic structure ⇒ the first movement ends with a fortissimo coda.

12a   Place of safety, mainly /for/ a person of means (4)

13a   Profit-producing // cure vital for redevelopment (9)

15a   Outrageous // relative accommodated in apartment (8)

In Britain, the term flat^[5] is used for what would be called an apartment in North America. The term apartment is used in Britain, but seemingly in a more restricted sense than in North America  applying to temporary or more classy accommodation. From the perspective of Oxford Dictionaries, apartment^[5] is:

1. a British term for a flat, typically one that is well appointed or used for holidays ⇒ self-catering holiday apartments; or
2. a North American term for any flat ⇒ the family lived in a rented apartment.

16a   Puzzle/'s/ new meaning missing at core (6)

18a   Electronic circuits needing energy // to go by (6)

"energy" = E (show explanation )

In physics, E^[5] is a symbol used to represent energy.

hide explanation

20a   Surprise surrounding law-breaking // champion (8)

A stalwart^[3] is one who steadfastly supports an organization or cause ⇒ party stalwarts.

23a   Abandoning // reputation to protect daughter at last (9)

24a   Grass /as/ part of fat-free diet (4)

26a   Span /of/ religion primarily found in a church (4)

27a   Facilities /offered by/ politicians after volcanic outpouring? (10)

28a   Always // strict, dismissing outsiders (4)

29a   Authorities encourage // rapid increase in electricity used (5,5)

Down

1d   Handle roughly // 1000 gold lines initially (4)

The symbol for the chemical element gold is Au^[5] (from Latin aurum).

2d   A trial, oddly, after profit rises /and/ falls (7)

The American Falls are in the foreground with
the Canadian Horseshoe Falls in the background

It is pleasing — but hardly surprising — to see that the 2Kiwis have used the generally accepted more picturesque Canadian side of the falls to illustrate their review.

3d   Give a false account of // various enterprises supporting millions (12)

4d   Potential flier /is/ irritating, taking son for first of trips (8)

Be careful how you read Gazza's hint as it could easily be misinterpreted. The phrase "first of trips" is used to clue the letter T. Although it is the first T in NETTLING that must be replaced by an S, the setter does not actually specify that in the clue.

5d   Grow old and cold in New York // office (6)

7d   Loving // a party, make a call (7)

8d   Replacements /for/ spring on belt sent up (5,5)

11d   Boastful // Avon girl is worried, with proof of debts (12)

14d   Face alcohol before breakfast? (10)

17d   Do nothing, // say, to protect a good name (8)

19d   Gold relic designed /for/ chamber (7)

See comment at 1d for "gold".

21d   A row about the Spanish // studio (7)

"the Spanish" = EL (show explanation )

In Spanish, the masculine singular form of the definite article is el^[8].

hide explanation

22d   House accommodating a // bad-tempered woman (6)

In astrology, a house^[10] is any any of the 12 divisions of the zodiac.

In astrology, Virgo^[10] (also called the Virgin) is the sixth sign of the zodiac, symbol ♍, having a mutable earth classification and ruled by the planet Mercury. The sun is in this sign between about Aug 23 and Sept 22.

25d   Place /causing/ a bit of travel sickness on the way back? (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