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One for fans of Harry in sex, drugs and alcohol mode. Nearly two-thirds of the clues make reference to one of the trio of pastimes.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
cad clue as definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
1 Pneumatic model excited clean-cut boys
BOUNCY CASTLE
(CLEAN CUT BOYS)* with ‘excited’ as the anagrind.
8 Men with energy flipping love horse and herb
OREGANO
A charade of OR for Other Ranks, E, and O NAG reversed.
9 Duke wearing a wig given smack?
DRUGGED
A charade of D and RUGGED.
11 Popular spinster going topless around country
INDIA
A charade of IN and [M]AID reversed.
12 Architect chasing after common Aussie singer
HEATH WREN
A charade of HEATH and [Sir Christopher]WREN. It’s known as the chestnut-rumped heathwren, for reasons which will be evident if you have a look at the the obligatory Pierre bird link. A new bird on me, since it is confined to certain states in Australia. It certainly looks like our UK wren, but perhaps one of our Antipodean contributors can say a bit more about it.
13 Doctor repelled by half-cut Thai’s all-round thickness
GIRTH
A charade of RIG reversed and TH[AI].
15 Awfully asocial American is very lewd
SALACIOUS
(ASOCIAL)* followed by US. The anagrind is ‘awfully’.
17 Perverted male loves impotent leaders
LAME DUCKS
A charade of (MALE)* and DUCKS. The anagrind is ‘perverted’ and both LOVE and DUCK are terms of affection used in various parts of the UK.
20 Drop of tequila in a vessel makes you misbehave
ACT UP
An insertion of T for the initial letter of ‘tequila’ in A CUP. The insertion indicator is ‘in’.
21 Clear French wine? Escort necks one with Charlie!
VINDICATE
A charade of VIN and IC inserted into DATE. The Charlie is from the phonetic alphabet and the insertion indicator is ‘necks’.
23 Groups pinching American bottoms
SEATS
An insertion of A in SETS. The insertion indicator is ‘pinching’.
25 One cuddling a famous reverend
SPOONER
A dd.
26 One behind promotion for a film?
TRAILER
Another dd.
27 Bones mostly associated with the head?
NEUROSURGEON
A cd. ‘Bones’ is slang for a doctor.
Down
1 In the sack, soldiers make babies
BREED
An insertion of RE for Royal Engineers in BED. The insertion indicator is ‘in’.
2 Brazen hand abuse must be rectified!
UNABASHED
(HAND ABUSE)* with ‘must be rectified’ as the anagrind.
3 Clobber heroin and ecstasy-injecting idiots
CLOTHES
An insertion of H and E in CLOTS. The insertion indicator is ‘injecting’.
4 Rogue with nothing on held naked monk on TV
CADFAEL
A charade of CAD, FA for f**k all and [H]EL[D]. Referring to a 1990s’ TV series.
5 Soppy language of drunkard overlooked by son
SLUSH
A charade of S and LUSH.
6 Large royal turned up comatose in rowdy boozer
LAGER LOUT
A reversal of L REGAL followed by OUT.
7 Those making punch have less of a hit?
BOXING GLOVES
A cd.
10 Treat this randy sap with abandon!
DANISH PASTRY
(THIS RANDY SAP)* with ‘with abandon’ as the anagrind.
14 An outstanding bill from Italy?
ROMAN NOSE
A cd.
16 Hard drug consuming male, half-cut teen and fellow pupil
CLASSMATE
A charade of M inserted into CLASS A and TE[EN]. The Thai was half-cut in 13ac; now the teen is the same.
18 Daily mass occasionally put on by grand yoga centres
CHAKRAS
An insertion of K for a thousand or ‘grand’ in CHAR and mAsS. No, I hadn’t either.
19 Top of tree was in need of treatment
SWEATER
(TREE WAS)* with ‘in need of treatment’ as the anagrind.
22 One does wrong to bump off southern private
INNER
[S]INNER
24 A couple of lines nurse gets funny man
ALLEN
A charade of A, LL and EN for Enrolled Nurse gives you Dave ALLEN, the Irish comedian best-known for his television work in the 1970s and 1980s.
Many thanks to Hoskins for this Sunday’s puzzle.
Thanks Pierre and Hoskins.
Mostly flowed in with some head-scratching.
Likes
LAGER LOUT
CHAKRAS
ROMAN NOSE
CLOTHES
Thanks, Hoskins and Pierre!
Liked HEATH WREN and ROMAN NOSE.
GIRTH
I think the def should be all-round thickness
Nice that you picked Dave ALLEN over Woody, Pierre.
And for lapsed !rish Catholics like him the “Daily mass” in the clue for18d CHAKRAS was a lift-and-separate.
🙂
I did know CHAKRAS (I think I first heard the word in Xena, Warrior Princess). In 17a, I went for “loves” and “ducks” both being terms for zeros (tennis/cricket), but either way works. I did think of Woody before Dave but that’s neither here nor there.
Perhaps the zero meaning is what the setter intended, Hovis. Living in rural Derbyshire, though, that combo is always going to set me off into ‘Ey oop me duck’ territory. Woody or Dave? ‘Funny’ is in the eye of the beholder – although to be fair both would come into that category for me and happily both work.
Injecting ecstasy!? Hmmm ?
Beaten by the WREN which, in hindsight, I should have got but I thought we were on a Natalie Imbruglia/ Kylie Minogue sort of hunt – and I have just detailed my entire knowledge of that genre. Mind you, I could probably name even fewer feathered songbirds from that fine country. The rest was reasonably straightforward for a Sunday though NEUROSURGEON did not come quickly to mind. You know what you’re going to get from Hoskins and we certainly did today. Shame about the ‘half-cut’s which needed to be … half-cut.
Thanks Hoskins and Pierre
This was top notch Hoskins apart from my repetition radar bleeping courtesy of two half-cuts.
Many thanks to Harry and to Pierre.
I too preferred Dave Allen as I was a great fan. There is also Tom Allen ( 8 out of 10 cats, Bake Off … ) , a modern acerbic comedian.
It was nice to see SPOONER as an answer rather than in the cluing.
Thank you Hoskins and Pierre.
It needed all the crossers for Sir Christopher Wren to come to mind. I think Harry is allowed to get half-cut twice on a Sunday. Thanks, both.
Our ‘arry up to his usual tricks, I shall never view my grandchildren’s birthday party treat in quite the same way again!
Probably speaks volumes that I knew the 12a bird but hadn’t heard of the singer – at least I was pleased that he/it gave our reviewer the opportunity to include one of his bird links.
Three cheers for the reverend Spooner – not often I feel like saying that!
Many thanks to Hoskins for the fun and to Pierre for the review.
Thanks Hoskins, that was fun as usual. I failed with CADFAEL and NEUROSURGEON and only guessed at HEATH WREN and SWEATER but most of this went in without much angst. My top picks were BOUNCY CASTLE for its anagram, DRUGGED for its surface imagery, BREED for its comedic surface, DANISH PASTRY because either end could have indicated an anagram and either end could have been the definition, and ROMAN NOSE. I didn’t like the CD for BOXING GLOVES and thought a clue something like “Crate at home with two grand ducks for fighting” would have been more entertaining. Thanks Pierre for the blog.
24 d I had to unconvince myself that the solution was TWAIN
Took me far too long to spot 19 was an anagram, a real doh moment when the penny dropped.
I liked Trailer and Roman Nose, once I’d convinced myself bill really was a synonym of nose. Thought 27 was neat too.
Anyway, that’s enough double entendres to keep me going for another week!
Thanks Pierre and Hoskins.