Hoskins is always good fun on a Sunday, and this week was no exception.
Things generally fell into place quite swiftly for me. Favourite moments included rather fun, misleading definition “Exercise restraint!” at 4 across and “power shower” in the wordplay at 13 down.
There were just a couple of hold-ups, at 5 down and 17 down. I hadn’t heard of ORLEANISTS, and my usual go-to anagram tools were no help. With the checking letters in place, though, it seemed a fair bet, and Wikipedia confirms they did exist whoever they were.
Similarly, I needed the checkers for MUTINEERS too, and I’m still not entirely sure what the definition is.
| Across | ||
| 1 | CABIN | Compartment at bow, sailor home? (5) |
| C[ompartment], AB. + IN, and a nice &lit. | ||
| 4 | SPORTS BRA | Top brass run wildly? Exercise restraint! (6,3) |
| Anagram of (TOP BRASS R)*. | ||
| 9 | A FAIR DEAL | A moderate to deliver equitable treatment (1,4,4) |
| Straightforward charade of A + FAIR + DEAL. | ||
| 10 | ABOUT | A duck-filled bath turned over roughly (5) |
| A + (0 inserted into TUB)<. | ||
| 11 | EROTIC | Sexy quote about men, all retired (6) |
| (OR in CITE)<. | ||
| 12 | HAYMAKER | A blow for one exploiting sunny weather? (8) |
| Two definitions: a blow in boxing, and also one who preverbially makes hay while the sun shines. | ||
| 14 | OVERSTRAIN | Tax too much? Done with society? Then teach! (10) |
| OVER + S + TRAIN. | ||
| 16 | ADAM | Nice lady stripped the first guy to come along (4) |
| [m]ADAM[e]. | ||
| 19 | EXIT | Go off sex – it’s not all that! (4) |
| Hidden in [s]EX IT[‘s]. | ||
| 20 | HIT THE SPOT | To satisfy craving, southern dons smoke some weed (3,3,4) |
| S in HIT THE POT. | ||
| 22 | CHILDISH | Briefly refrigerate babe? That’s immature (8) |
| CHIL[l] + DISH. | ||
| 23 | STALIN | Old red mark, bit of lippy involved? (6) |
| STAIN with L[ippy] inside it. | ||
| 26 | MIAMI | City goal upset Messi, he’s gutted! (5) |
| AIM< + M[ess]I. | ||
| 27 | OTHERWISE | Wet hero is to get changed or else! (9) |
| Anagram of (WET HERO IS)*. | ||
| 28 | CLERGYMAN | Religious type my clanger annoyed (9) |
| Anagram of (MY CLANGER)*. | ||
| 29 | DEGAS | Painter editor repelled with flatulence (5) |
| ED< + GAS. | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | CHAPERONE | Man with leg over the Queen, European escort? (9) |
| (ER in (CHAP + ON)) + E. | ||
| 2 | BEANO | Head over for a riotously good time (5) |
| BEAN + O. | ||
| 3 | NERDIEST | Most geeky resident in need of a makeover (8) |
| RESIDENT*. | ||
| 4 | SEEP | Ooze sophistication at first, then continue going topless (4) |
| S[ophistication] + [k]EEP. | ||
| 5 | ORLEANISTS | Large señoritas excited old French right-wingers (10) |
| Anagram of (L + SENORITAS)*. | ||
| 6 | TRAUMA | Great shock to hear short old lady’s stolen gold (6) |
| Au in (TR[y] + MA). | ||
| 7 | BLOCKED UP | Bishop in the can…constipated? (7,2) |
| B + LOCKED UP. | ||
| 8 | ACTOR | Player about given up? Flipping nonsense! (5) |
| CA< + ROT<. | ||
| 13 | BRAINSTORM | American’s bright idea for British power shower? (10) |
| B + RAINSTORM. | ||
| 15 | ELIMINATE | Put out some Zinfandel, I’m in a temper! (9) |
| Nicely done: hidden in [Zinfand]EL IM IN A TE[mper]. | ||
| 17 | MUTINEERS | Mass reunites awfully Christian-minded folk? (9) |
| M + REUNITES*. | ||
| 18 | RESTORED | Fixed to keep punching one such as Corbyn (8) |
| RED contains STORE. | ||
| 21 | ADDING | Putting in stuffing, having removed pigeon’s head (6) |
| [p]ADDING, the removed “p” being from P[igeon]. | ||
| 22 | COMIC | Funny business with half-cut Hoskins in charge (5) |
| CO + M[e] + IC. | ||
| 24 | LYING | Fast, but not initially friendly, pork pie delivery? (5) |
| [f]LYING. Another rather fun definition, with “pork pies” becing cockney rhyming slang for “lies”. | ||
| 25 | SHIN | Just tops to see Hoskins in negligee, showing bit of leg (4) |
| Acrostic using the initial letters (“tops”) of S[ee] H[oskins] I[n] N[egligee]. Quite a mental image to be left with. | ||
* = anagram; < = reversed; [] = removed; underlined = definition; Hover to expand abbreviations
Fun as always, with some very satisfying PDMs, especially SPORTS BRA, STALIN and MUTINEERS. The ‘Christian-minded folk’ referred to here are the followers of Fletcher Christian, the ringleader of the mutiny on the Bounty.
I couldn’t parse HIT THE SPOT because I was misled by ‘dons’ (thinking academics).
Thanks Simon and Hoskins.
Good mid-Sunday afternoon solve. Yes, the ‘Exercise restraint’ was my favourite too, along with the ‘Christian-minded folk’ and the misdirection of ‘dons’. Had to guess ORLEANISTS and ended up missing how ‘Compartment at bow’ worked – a neat &lit once explained.
Thanks to Hoskins and Simon
Thanks for blogging, Simon.
My last two in were HITS THE SPOT and ORLEANISTS. For the former, I too got misled by the ‘don’ bit; and the latter was a word I didn’t know, and because I’m crap at anagrams, it took me ages to get it.
Otherwise, good Sunday morning fun from Harry. I too especially liked SPORTS BRA, and I did twig the FLETCHER bit of ‘Christian-minded’ so felt quite pleased with myself.
Thank you to Hoskins for the puzzle – just right for the IoS slot.
I enjoyed this hugely, as always, and fair flew through it until coming to a full stop with 18d which I just couldn’t pin down. I wasn’t sure about the “red” bit since the clue intersects with STALIN which also uses this device. So a DNF; grrr.
But many thanks to H & SH
Finished this without any problems but had to check ORLEANISTS. As for the surfaces, I’ll say “oo-er” to 1d and “holy s!?t” to 7d. A pleasant solve although, for some reason, 25d made me feel a bit queasy 🙂
Well that 20a.
I know there’s a serious and erudite side to the Hosk as well (well, he assures us there is) … but I can’t deny that I’m a sucker for the naughty ones. I shall try to exercise restraint in my comments. (Yes, that was a favourite of mine too.) I also noted down the 12a blow and the Nice lady of 16a, and there were plenty of other goodies in addition.
I enjoyed the 10a image (the duck-filled bath), but I’m not so sure about the one evoked by 25d!
Many thanks to Harry and to Simon for the blog.
Here is a very nicely-written puzzle.
Very nice. However in some sort of dyslexic senior moment, I wrote in MINISTERS for 17 which held that corner up until I discovered my stupidity. I loved the simplicity of HAYMAKER
Many thanks to Hoskins and Simon.
I cant help thinking of him as “Bob” who did a fantastic job on Iago (BBC I think)
An enjoyable puzzle, only spoiled by coming unstuck on 7dn and 20ac; having put BLOCKED IN for 7dn I was left with TIE THE KNOT for 20ac, which might possibly be interpreted as a way of satisfying a craving but no way could it be parsed.
Plenty to like – too many to nominate a CoD.
Thanks, Hoskins and Simon.
Ace
cry for helppuzzle with plenty of wit as we’ve come to expect, and incredibly concise clueing too.Took me longer than usual, even allowing for the 10-minute cold shower after I’d seen 25d, but I stuck with it seeing as it’s a long weekend. I said long, not lost. 😀
16 and 19 a very funny one-two, and I agree that 15d was a lovely hidden clue. I could pick out many others…
Thank you, Simon and Hoskins.
Many thanks to SH for the usual fab blog and to everyone who solved, and especially those who commented.
Always glad to bring a bit of fun and frippery to a Sunday so happy the puzzle did its job. I’d thought ‘orleanist’ would be okay for anagram solvers, but prolly the plural that buggered it – Swatty @1 has the intended def for Mutineers.
As for my erudite side, Kitty @6, well – it is there and, although I talk of it oft, I hide it so well I do declare I’ve yet to spot it my ownself. I also prefer the naughty clues – but do try to keep a variety for those who might not …most of the time.
Glad to be thought of as Bob, Copmus @8 (and especially in an Iago role) though I’ll always remember him in Mona Lisa with Cathy wots-her-name rather than Shakespeare – great, but pretty bleak, film is Mona Lisa and well worth the watch if you’ve not seen it before.
Talking of names, I suppose I should also mention that my moniker of Hoskins comes from my old man who, when I was a kid, called me Hopeless Harry Hoskins on account of my haphazard approach to childhood. Hmmm, he also used to call me Slormgorm, too – another setter name there, I fancy. The derivation of Slormgorm, for anyone not nodded off yet, was Slorm: ’cause I’d slorm around; and Gorm: cause it was the closest I’d ever get to having the gorm of which I was so less.
Anyhoo, ’nuff jabber from me as it be about the time one turns to The Fabled Fifteen Squared for some late-night libation.
Long-time readers will be happy to hear Mrs Jalopy, the keeper of the trolley, is back in harness having left Mr Toodles from accounts in bits after a short, but explosive, fling in Cleethorpes fireworks factory.
Still, with Mrs Jalopy back on the job its drinks all round for everyone and, in an act of public decency unknown in parts Hoskins, I shall even put on a dressing gown so my negligee – a pearlescent puce, gold lame lined, sheer little number – doesn’t put anyone off their Babychams.
Look forward to seeing you all next time around. That should be the 8th of June – a tougher crossie, but still with some laughs – though more likely it’ll be on the morrow when there is a very entertaining and thoroughly recommended Knut puzzle to kick off our Indy week.
Cheers and chin chin to all. 🙂