An entertaining puzzle from Hoskins, with some nice surface reads and some good timing (or judicious editing?) regarding comings-and-goings at No 10 this week…
My first solving note was a capitalised ‘HARSH!’ next to 12A. Then ‘Good timing’ next to 21, with Theresa suddenly becoming the ‘former’ PM…
As a (fairly average) golfer, I enjoyed 16D (and in fact I enjoy the other reading – alcoholic shots and rounds – as well…) On a similar theme, the removal of DT’s from ‘dry spells’, or DROUGHTS, at 9A to make one feel ‘rough’ was a nice touch. Many more – I’m sure other solvers will have their own favourites…
No obvious Nina or theme that I could see – but happy to be enlightened…
Two that I couldn’t 100% justify my parsing – in 1D the shaking isn’t specifically from cold, and the fireplace would only help if it was lit? And is 3D really ‘just’ a double definition? I haven’t revisited Swift recently, but wouldn’t automatically think of the Yahoos as female, although I guess you would need some females to continue the race?!…happy again to be pointed in the right direction…
Thanks to Hoskins for a pleasantly diverting, but not too onerous, solve…
| Across | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clue No | Solution | Clue | Definition (with occasional embellishments) / Logic/parsing |
|
| 1A | FANCY THAT | My time to wear Ascot headgear, say (5,4) | My! (interjection) / FANCY _HAT (Ascot headgear, say) around (worn by) T (time) |
|
| 6A | SALAD | Small boy grabbing a grub from leaves? (5) | grub from leaves / S (small) + LAD (boy), around (grabbing) A |
|
| 9A | ROUGH | Total dry spells with no DTs can be hazy (5) | hazy / (D)ROUGH(TS) – totally dry spells, without the letters D, T S |
|
| 10A | DIRECTION | Line manager should give one this (9) | double defn. / a ‘line’ can be a DIRECTION one is taking; and a manager should give DIRECTION to their underlings |
|
| 11A | PROVOLONE | Poor novel needs editing – it’s very cheesy! (9) | it’s very cheesy! / anag, i.e. needs editing, of POOR NOVEL |
|
| 12A | OLDIE | Look back and snuff it – one tends to do both! (5) | &lit-ish – one who tends to both look back and (eventually) snuff it! / OL (lo!, interjection, ‘look!’, back) + DIE (snuff it) |
|
| 13A | ARISTOS | A right one upset drunks and toffs (7) | toffs / A + R (right) + I (one) + STOS (sots, or drunks, upset) |
|
| 15A | TRACHEA | Tube of paintings knocked over by red American (7) | tube / TRA (art, or paintings, knocked over) + CHE (Red – communist) + A (American) |
|
| 18A | EPSILON | Foreign character treated piles at work (7) | foreign (Greek) character / EPSIL (anag, i.e. treated!, of PILES) + ON (at work) |
|
| 20A | INHALER | One inspiring hotel to get in popular beer and lager at last (7) | one inspiring / IN (popular) + ALE (beer), around H (hotel), plus R (last letter of lageR) |
|
| 21A | MAYOR | Men on the right of former PM and Sadiq Kahn? (5) | Sadiq Khan? (current Mayor of London) / MAY (former PM!) + OR (Ordinary Ranks, ‘the men’) |
|
| 23A | TALKATIVE | Gassy valet with a kit for new treatment (9) | gassy / anag, i.e. new treament, of VALET + A KIT |
|
| 25A | DISABLING | Unfortunately, balding is crippling (9) | crippling / anag, i.e. unfortunately, of IS BALDING |
|
| 26A | PHONE | Call fraud if last bit of money vanishes (5) | call / PHONE( |
|
| 27A | MELEE | Fight with Hoskins about English and the French (5) | fight / M_E (me, the setter, Hoskins) around E (English) + LE (definite article, the in French) |
|
| 28A | GOLDCREST | Bird seen in grand, ancient coat of arms (9) | bird / G (grand) + OLD (ancient) + CREST (coat of arms) |
|
| Down | ||||
| Clue No | Solution | Clue | Definition (with occasional embellishments) / Logic/parsing |
|
| 1D | FIREPLACE | I feel crap shaking, but not by this! (9) | &lit-ish again? – somewhere one would not be shaking (shivering) if standing by (a lit) one? / anag, i.e. shaking, of I FEEL CRAP |
|
| 2D | NEUROTICS | We really worry cure is not working (9) | we really worry! / anag, i.e. working, of CURE IS NOT |
|
| 3D | YAHOO | I’m excited as she’s obscenely coarse (5) | double defn.? / YAHOO can mean ‘Hurrah’, or ‘I am excited; and a YAHOO can be a boorish lout, or ‘obscenely coarse’ person? |
|
| 4D | HIDEOUS | Terrible-looking skin American covers over (7) | terrible-looking / HIDE (skin) + US (American), around (covering) O (over, cricket) |
|
| 5D | TORMENT | Contrary communist grasping chaps annoy (7) | annoy / TOR_T (trot, or Trotskyite, contrariwise) around MEN (chaps) |
|
| 6D | SOCIOPATH | A cop shot, one involved in that, perhaps (9) | &lit-ish again – a sociopath might be involved in a shooting incident with a cop – whether shooting or being shot at?! / anag, i.e. involved, of A COP SHOT + I (one) |
|
| 7D | LAIRD | One visiting fat person with an estate? (5) | (Scottish) person with an estate / LA_RD (fat) around (visited by) I (one) |
|
| 8D | DANTE | I told of a hellish trip in Escort around noon (5) | I (Dante Aligheri) told of a hellish trip / DA_TE (escort) around N (noon) |
|
| 14D | TOLERABLE | New role taken on by board is all right (9) | all right / T_ABLE around (taking on) OLER (anag, i.e. new, of ROLE) |
|
| 16D | HOLE IN ONE | The sort of shot one hopes for in a round? (4,2,3) | CD? / Not an alcoholic ‘shot’ in a ’round’ of drinks, but a desirable shot in a round of golf! |
|
| 17D | AGREEMENT | A salute brings soldiers aboard Concord (9) | concord / A + GREE_T (salute), around (bringing on board) MEN (soldiers) |
|
| 19D | NOTHING | Love husband taking down trousers (7) | love (zero/nil) / NOT_ING (taking down) around (trousering) H (husband) |
|
| 20D | ILLEGAL | Bad girl smuggling drug banned by law (7) | banned by law / ILL (bad) + GAL (girl), around (smuggling in) E (Ecstasy tablet – drug) |
|
| 21D | MADAM | Two mothers, one runs a disorderly house (5) | one (who) runs a disorderly house (brothel!) / MA (a mother) + DAM (another mother!) |
|
| 22D | YSSEL | Dutch river boys seldom have gone across (5) | Dutch river) / hidden word, i.e. have gone across, in ‘boYS SELdom’ |
|
| 24D | ASPIC | When ancient Scot throws his last wobbler? (5) | wobbler (jelly!) / AS (when) + PIC( |
|
What a hoot! Loved the humour. OLDIE made me chuckle and NOTHING was sheer genius. I agree with all the parsings.
Thanks to Hoskins and mc_rapper67.
Brilliant! Almost a laugh a clue. I was held up for a while by the alternative spelling of IJSSEL which I’ve never come across before but that was my only difficulty. My podium comprises SALAD, OLDIE and NOTHING.
I believe Yahoos of both sexes appear in Gulliver’s Travels and presumably, for the benefit of the surface reading, Hoskins picked the one which most excited him.
Many thanks to Hoskins and to mc_rapper67.
Entertaining stuff. Liked FANCY HAT, NOTHING, NEUROTICS (&littish?). Thought this one of Hoskins’ best.
Perhaps the “she” in 3D is a version of the mannered “inclusivity” of (usually male) writers using this pronoun instead of the previously prevalent “he” or “they” when referring to a person of unspecified gender.
Thanks to Hoskins and mc_rapper67.
a lovely puzzle; many thanks indeed to H & mc_r
enjoyed this immensely but not sure why across clues are all labelled D in blog….
Thanks for the various feedback/comments – looks like a well received puzzle…
reddevil at #5 – good spot – looks like an accidental copy-n-paste in my blog-preparing/formatting spreadsheet – corrected above, and I will check my workings!
All good fun – even though I did have to phone a friend over 3d!
My top three were 1&12a plus 21d.
Many thanks to Harry and to mc rapper for the review.
Many thanks, both, for the blog and for the entertainment.
My favourites were OLDIE [with a wince – thanks, Harry!] DANTE [great surface] and NOTHING [lovely surface, construction and made me laugh].
Smashing. Hoskins had an ace puzzle in the ST two weeks ago, and this was him on even better form.
For once, saying that nothing stood out is a compliment! Fantastic clue, and I can only imagine the
gingrin on his face when he wrote it.Cheers to Hoskins and mc.