Independent 10,082 / Hoskins

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Hoskins has provided this week’s Tuesday puzzle.

I found this to be a medium-difficulty puzzle, of which I completed about two thirds at my first attempt and the remaining third when I came back to it a bit later. The clues and solutions alike are peppered with religious references, which I assume together constitute our theme – it is Tuesday after all 😉

I needed to confirm the solutions at 1D and at 22 in Chambers, although the wordplay was tight enough to allow the solver to be fairly confident of having arrived at the right answer. I did wonder about the surface reading of 4, with its “current cakes” – currant buns would have been a different matter, of course! The puzzle also reminded me that I had forgotten the basic meaning of “X factor”.

My favourite clues today were 3, for the misdirection around “plot”; 15, for its surface and for the misdirection around “dons”; and above all 16, for the cleverly disguised division between definition and wordplay in the middle of “Rod / Steiger”.

*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues

Across    
     
01 ARMAGEDDON Republican among dead slaughtered in battle

*(R (=republican) + AMONG DEAD); “slaughtered” is anagram indicator
     
06 PALM Friend that’s fourth to climb a tree

PAL (=friend) + <cli>M<b> (“fourth to” means fourth letter only)
     
09 ALTARPIECE Replicate a fantastic communion table artwork?

*(REPLICATE A); “fantastic” is anagram indicator
     
10 STAG Label put on small animal of the deer family

S (=small, of sizes) + TAG (=label)
     
12 BEDE Busy type nursing duke and an old monk

D (=duke) in BEE (=busy type, as in busy bee); the reference is to the Venerable Bede, an English Benedictine monk, born in c. 673
     
13 TRINITIES Attempts to cover popular X-Factor trios

[IN (=popular) + IT (=x-factor, i.e. special quality)] in TRIES (=attempts)
     
15 OUTMODED Old-fashioned 60s youth dons exposed

MOD (=60s youth, as in mods and rockers) in OUTED (=exposed, e.g. closet gays); the “dons” of the wordplay means wears, not academics
     
16 ANGLER I cast Rod Steiger’s last part with devious purpose

ANGLE (=devious purpose, plan devised for profit) + <steige>R (“last part” means last letter only); an angler casts a fishing rod into a river
     
18 SACRED Holy wine at the back of an unclosed bag

SAC<k> (=bag; “unclosed” means last letter dropped) + RED (=wine)
     
20 FLAGRANT Outrageous and aggressive speech about the Tricolour?

Cryptically, a “flag (=Tricolour) rant (=aggressive speech)” could be an “aggressive speech about the Tricolour”!
     
23 CARPENTER President in 70s holding writer’s job

PEN (=writer, i.e. writing implement) in CARTER (=President in 70s, i.e. in US)
     
24 THIN Narrow object lacking girth at the front edge

THIN<g> (=object); “lacking girth at the front edge (= i.e. first letter) means letter “g” is dropped
     
26 AMOS Very old lady upset Hebrew prophet

SO (=very) + MA (=old lady); “upset” indicates reversal; Amos is one of the Twelve Minor Prophets in the Old Testament
     
27 STAND-ALONE Priest and a loner mostly able to operate independently

Hidden (“mostly”) in “prieST AND A LONEr”; e.g. a stand-alone device
     
28 EAST Direction female gets out of religious celebration?

<f>EAST (=religious celebration); “female (=F) gets out” means letter “f” is dropped
     
29 PROTESTANT Religious type of social worker on demo

PROTEST (=demo) + ANT (=”social worker”)
     
Down    
     
01 ADAR Artist and attorney up for a month in Israel?

RA (=artist, i.e. Royal Academician) + DA (=attorney, i.e. District Attorney); “up” indicates vertical reversal; Adar is a month in the Jewish calendar, hence “in Israel”
     
02 MATIEST Most friendly Pole welcomes relationship

TIE (=relationship, link) in MAST (=pole, on vessel)
     
03 GARDEN OF EDEN Vacuous friar and dean on edge about holy plot?

*(F<ria>R + DEAN ON EDGE); “vacuous” means middle letters are dropped; “about” is anagram indicator; the “plot” of the definition is a plot of land, hence “garden”
     
04 DAINTIES Daughter and her dad’s sisters making posh current cakes

D (=daughter) + AUNTIES (=dad’s sisters); “making posh (=U) current (=I, in physics)” means letter “u” becomes “i”
     
05 ORCHID Choir messed up note – that’s a bloomer

*(CHOIR) + D (=note, in music); “messed up” is anagram indicator
     
07 ANT HILL A book collection hospital gets sick soldiers’ home?

A + NT (=book collection, i.e. New Testament) + H (=hospital) + ILL (=sick)
     
08 MAGISTRATE One’s involved in new stratagem to get justice

I’S (=one’s) in *(STRATAGEM); “new” is anagram indicator; a justice is a magistrate, judge
     
11 MIDNIGHT MASS In a bad way and might miss church service

*(AND MIGHT MISS); “in a bad way” is anagram indicator
     
14 CONSECRATE Make 18 conservatives charge around the city

EC (=the city, i.e. postcode for the City of London) in [CONS (=conservatives) + RATE (=charge, fee)]; to consecrate is to “make sacred (=entry at 18)”
     
17 CLARINET An instrument at home to open red wine?

IN (=at home) in CLARET (=red wine)
     
19 CARROTS Vehicles stuffed with rubbish vegetables

ROT (=rubbish) in CARS (=vehicles)
     
21 ARIZONA State opera part filled by unknown short individual

[Z (=unknown, e.g. in algebra) + ON<e> (=individual; “short” means last letter dropped)] in ARIA (=opera part)
     
22 STATER Ancient coin gallery displayed in case of silver

TATE (=gallery) in S<ilve>R (“case of” means first and last letters only); a stater is an ancient Greek standard coin
     
25 LENT Allowed to eat first chunk of nougat? Not now!

N<ougat> (“first chunk of” means first letter only) in LET (=allowed); Lent is not when one is allowed to indulge oneself
     
     

 

12 comments on “Independent 10,082 / Hoskins”

  1. I was wondering if this was really set by Hoskins with a large number of religious references and no innuendo.  I thought it was very enjoyable with some very good surfaces.  Notable exceptions were 4d due to its necessary use of the wrong sort of current; and 7d.   The only answer I needed to check was 1d.

    We were spoilt for choice with candidates for favourite, my short list being 13a, 15a, 16a & 3d.

    Many thanks to Hoskins and to RR.

  2. Nice one ‘arry; you’ve gone all religious today.

    Thanks RR for a good blog. Of course, sac, itself, can be a bag so it didn’t really need to be unclosed.

    I particularly liked DAINTIES, FLAGRANT and STAND ALONE, which was nicely hidden.

  3. I seemed to be on the right wavelength today and finished in no time at all and even I couldn’t miss the theme. I liked the posh current cakes. Thanks to both.

  4. Not my favourite puzzle from Harry as it felt somewhat disjointed with perhaps the themed elements necessitating the inclusion of a few weak clues.  Nevertheless, there were certainly some goodies to be found.   Like RR, I had to check on 1&22d.

    My top two were 13&20a.

    Thanks to Hoskins and to RR for the blog.

  5. A little way in I jokingly thought to myself that maybe this was a Church Times puzzle misfiled … then after a few more I realised that this was a definite theme.

    Wondered if it was some kind of fEAST day, but no.  It’s another month until the start of LENT.

    Anyway, nothing FLAGRANT here.  This setter never fails to surprise in some way!  I particularly liked SACRED (and it’s always good to find a stash or the red stuff), STAND-ALONE, the holy plot (GARDEN OF EDEN) and CONSECRATE.

    I was unfamiliar with the same entries as RR (though 1d rang some kind of faint tinkly instrument) but the wordplay didn’t leave room for any appreciable doubt.

    Many thanks Hoskins and RatkojaRiku.

  6. Thanks for the blog, RR.

    A double helping of Harry today! I had the same initial tongue-in-cheek thoughts about this one – with over a dozen themed references – as Kitty.

    I really enjoyed this – like Rabbit Dave, I was spoiled for choice for favourites and have a fistful more to add to his. Like Robi, I admired the well-hidden STAND-ALONE and I loved the surface of MIDNIGHT MASS!

    I could have solved 15ac earlier if I hadn’t been fixated on it ending in TED for the 60s youth – and I’m mortified at having googled ‘atateg’ [I actually got some results!] for 22dn, when I’m totally familiar with STATER. ;-(  – but it all added to the fun, for which many thanks, Harry.

  7. Thanks to RatkojaRiku and Hoskins

    I liked MIDNIGHT MASS and MAGISTRATE and several other clues were fine, but what is a “current cake”, what is a “rubbish vegetable”, and as for “unknown short individual”! I hope UPSET = REVERSE in an across clue doesn’t catch on.

    BTW where else was this setter today?

  12. What’s going on? Has Harry been told off and gone into religious retribution? Hope Harry’s ok, the puzzle is splendid, as always. A few new words – religion has never been one of my fortes.

    Loads to like, at random let’s say I liked TRINITIES, midnight mass and Arizona.

    Thank you rr

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