Crossword Genius

Firm doctor adopts attitude that is calm and unruffled (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

composed

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'unruffled' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)

'firm doctor adopts attitude' is the wordplay.
'firm' becomes 'co' (a firm is a company).
'doctor' becomes 'md' (synonyms).
'adopts' is an insertion indicator.
'attitude' becomes 'pose' (attitude can mean a pose or stance).
'md' enclosing 'pose' is 'mposed'.
'co'+'mposed'='COMPOSED'

'that is calm and' acts as a link.
I am not very happy about this link. Some or all of it may belong to another bit of the clue.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for composed that I've seen before include "What poet did" , "Calm and collected" , "as score must be" , "with aplomb" , "appear unflappable" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.