Hoskins filling a fairly regular Sunday slot today to round off the week.
It’s Hoskins so booze, sex, drugs and fart gags abound. I found this mostly straightforward, how about you?
BASE – wicked & BALL – dance & CAP – beat, to cap something
SIR – knight & [C(olt) & C(onstant)] being hugged by to 2 x O – love. Where would Harry be without fart gags?
RAM – hit & PAN – rubbish & T(enor)
Getting wrong [URGE AT ONE]* although the wordplay seems too verbose unless there’s more going on.
EN – Enrolled Nurse inside SS – ship & E(uropean)
ED(itor) – the setter’s boss reversed & FOE – F(riends) O(f the) E(arth)
EX – old lover & MI(chigan) inside TRES – very – taken from the French & T(ense)
More wind from Harry, I – Hoskins inside a criminal [A SMARTER]*
GAFFER – boss, manager – missing the final letter
E(nglish) & X – cross & ACT – part of a play
NIP – drink reversed – flipping on top of BOUND – where you’re headed. I think really this clue would be better in a down clue but there you go.
A(dvanced) & LAB(our) & A & MA – mother
Anyone’s who anybody will be there. A & N(ew) Y(ork) – foreign city at least to those of us in the UK & BODY could be the council.
A cast [NOTE IM IDEAL]* Wishful thinking Hoskins!
When it’s the first clue you look at this gives you the impression it’s going to be rude week chez Hoskins. Lovely image huh? (docto)R finally inside BUST – boobs
A bit, drop of S(angria) & a munched [CUT UNCLE]*
Did wonder if this was going to be an Egyptian fabric but no. B(lack) & half of RO(om) & CAD – dog & E(gyptian). Asked myself if E was just Egypt but certainly Collins has Egyptian too
I assume the expression is in a dictionary somewhere. Large – fat & IT – sex, relations
P – quiet – removed from CAM(p)US
PLAIN – simple & TIFF – a small barney
Cryptic-ish def & a great spot for wild [ARMED ESCAPE]* Lovely clue
A changed [HE HATED TORY]*. Probably best to leave my thoughts of the government out of this.
FIRE – shoot & A & L(arge) & ARM – gun
EAGLE – a bird, flapper whimsically & sounds like – picked up – I’D, Hoskins had
EX – former & I(ndependence) inside PLAN – idea
MAN – chap & DATE – escort
Double cryptic def
R(epublican) inside a DOLL – barbie say
Thanks, Hoskins and flashling!
Yes. I feel so too. Mostly straightforward.
ENTOURAGE
‘all sorts of wrong’= wrong in more ways than one. Does Hoskins want us to
look for more ways to arrive at the solution?
Urge=ENcOURAGE
Encourage at one (one letter of ‘encourage’?) to go wrong.
Was looking for one more way so that ‘all sorts of’ gets justified.
‘Urge at one’ maybe ‘appetite’. I can’t think of another word somewhat close to encourage/entourage.
Hoskins is the Duke of Droll. Liked SPEED CAMERA, THE OTHER DAY, TOAST, and ANYBODY for their whimsy but all the clues were fun. Thanks flashling (yes, mostly straightforward once I got a roll on) and Bob.
IMHO ‘all sorts/kinds of wrong/crazy’ etc is fine. Non-standard but fine.
I agree with you Sofamore@3. I have seen these phrases used in informal contexts.
Assuming that every word in the clue is there for a purpose
(flashling indicates that as well), I am trying to see what
more can be made out of this clue. More fun. I guess.
PINHEADED
If we re-read the clue (with two parts of the solution replacing the corresponding words in the clue), we have:
HEADED to get on PIN
If it’s the same as HEADED on PIN, then it works all right (in an across clue).
If ‘to get on’ shouldn’t be interpreted this way, then there is some ambiguity.
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/large_it
Verb – (slang, UK) To engage in or seek pleasurable activities with great enthusiasm.
PINHEADED – “on” doesn’t necessarily have to mean “on top of” it can mean touching, adjacent to. So ok in an across clue.
FrankieG@7
PINHEADED
See my post@5.
I agree with you on ON.
The clue under discussion has ‘to get on’ instead of just ‘on’.
So…
As others have said, PINHEADED is fine as an across clue but wouldn’t work as a down clue as it would then give HEADEDPIN. I did waste a bit of time with EN(C->T)OURAGE but eventually saw the light.
Good crossword. I liked the clue for Alabama. At first I was taken aback that anyone could think the Labour Party ‘advanced’ but then realised it was a reference to pregnancy.
I like this setter although, in my opinion, he’s better when not resorting to playground humour.
Hoskins in good form. I noticed ENTOURAGE and “encourage” for ‘Urge’ as well and had vaguely the same thoughts as KVa @1, even if I couldn’t have put them into words. Favourites were the surfaces for BURST and DROLL.
Interesting that LARGE IT was also an answer in a Hoskins (in another guise) puzzle In Another Place last week. The blogger of the puzzle gave the example of Kevin and Perry Go Large, if that helps; though I’ve since looked it up, it didn’t help me, but others may remember the comedy.
Thanks to Hoskins and flashling
Hoskins in his usual fine form. Approachable and humorous – perfect for a Sunday morning. Thanks to him and to Flashling for our blog!
Certainly the first time I’ve come across LARGE IT – more familiar with ‘big it up’ and ‘giving it large’ but I guess Harry’s found it somewhere!
Favourite clue here was MANDATE.
Thanks to Hoskins, hope your wind soon settles, and to flashling for the review.
Thanks both. I also started with encourage and was looking for an indicator to get to ENTOURAGE. My dictionary doesn’t have tres for very to get to EXTREMIST and we all know the French but there was no direction to translate. I didn’t think of rubbish as a verb in RAMPANT so all in all my parsing can probably be put down to two late nights on the run
Thanks Hoskins for the fun. I never heard the expression LARGE IT and I couldn’t parse ENTOURAGE to my satisfaction but all else made sense. I’ve never liked “idea” meaning “plan” (in EXPLAIN) but I’m sure the sacred text known as Chambers will approve. My top choices were ANYBODY and SPEED CAMERA. Thanks flashling for the blog.
Completed it on the day for once! Very enjoyable and quick (for me).
Thanks Hopkins and Flashling.