Hoskins in his customary Independent on Sunday slot.
The usual sound puzzle from him, with a self-description at 12dn and a perimeter nina that reads WHITE BOARDS ARE REMARKABLE. Are the two related? I have no idea. Probably not: the nina is just a Dad joke. Think about it.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
cad clue as definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
6 Out-of-head member of your clan in high spirits
ELATION
[R]ELATION
7 Improvise brief defence to secure chess file
AD-LIB
An insertion of D in ALIB[I]. The insertion indicator is ‘to secure’. The columns of a chessboard are known as ‘files’, and the d file is fourth from the left from White’s perspective and is where the Queen is positioned at the start of the game.
9 Lie about spondulicks, not having any yen
LOLL
LOLL[Y]
10 Moon regent travelling around country abroad
MONTENEGRO
(MOON REGENT)* with ‘travelling around’ as the anagrind.
11 Naughty boys seizing northern infertile region
BADLANDS
An insertion of N in BAD LADS. The insertion indicator is ‘seizing’.
13 Laurel found in outskirts of Armenia’s capital
ASTANA
An insertion of STAN (Oliver Hardy’s partner in comedy) in AA for the outside letters of ‘Armenia’. ASTANA is the capital of Kazakhstan. The insertion indicator is ‘found in’.
15 Once again understood leader must become adult
ANEW
Hoskins is inviting you to change the K in KNEW to an A for ‘adult’.
17 Confuse Serpent mostly without fail ultimately
ADDLE
An insertion of L for the final letter of ‘fail’ in ADDE[R]. A name-check for another Indy setter, which not everyone will understand and therefore appreciate.
18 One person exploiting another one taking horse?
USER
A dd. ‘Horse’ is slang for heroin.
19 King meets a bishop, one with European girl’s name
KARRIE
A charade of K, A, RR for Right Reverend, I and E. The less frequent spelling is required for the perimeter nina.
20 Golden one in European department’s made a minister
ORDAINED
A charade of OR, I inserted into DANE and D. The insertion indicator is ‘in’.
23 I am a gruff bleeding northern guttersnipe
RAGAMUFFIN
A charade of (I AM A GRUFF)* and N. The anagrind is ‘bleeding’.
26 Passes work with eager singletons primarily
GOES
A charade of GO and ES for the initial letters of ‘eager’ and ‘singletons’.
27 Flipping Dada paintings in a class of their own?
APART
A charade of PA reversed and ART.
28 Hot articles Hoskins had knocked over in state
INDIANA
A charade of IN for ‘hot’ and a reversal of AN, A and I’D for ‘Hoskins had’.
Down
1 One reluctant to join party with a large liberal elite
WALLFLOWER
A charade of W, A, L, L and FLOWER; but I can’t say that FLOWER and ‘elite’ are easily connected.
2 The Killers or Stock, Aitken and Waterman, say
HITMEN
A dd cum cd. The trio were responsible for writing a string of hits for various artists in the 1980s.
3 A part of working? That’s being cool-headed!
IN ON
A charade of IN for ‘cool’ and ON for ‘working’, with the order of the particles in a down clue being indicated by ‘headed’.
4 Steal vehicle close to detective, but be cautious
TAKE CARE
A charade of TAKE, CAR and E for the final letter of ‘detective’.
5 More drugs that heartless lags will inject
ELSE
An insertion of L[AG]S in EE for two Es for ecstasy tablets. The insertion indicator is ‘will inject’. ‘What else/more could go wrong?’
6 A place a stud might go around, getting disease
EBOLA
A reversal of A LOBE. The ‘stud’ is referring to an earstud, which might find itself in the earlobe.
8 Knight in boozer with single noblewoman in Paris
BARONNE
An insertion of N in BAR and ONE. The insertion indicator is ‘in’. The French word for ‘baroness’.
12 Down? Flipping take too many drugs, Hoskins?
SADDO
A charade of SAD and OD reversed. The latter element is short for ‘overdose’. A self-deprecatory cad, I think.
14 Actor in rug belted about in comfortable motor
TOURING CAR
(ACTOR IN RUG)* with ‘belted about’ as the anagrind.
16 Foreign banker once more repelled artist
NIAGARA
A charade of AGAIN reversed and RA. The river that flows from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario and forms part of the boundary between Canada and the United States. It’s only 58km long.
17 English queen hugged by American escort is ok
ADEQUATE
An insertion of E and QU in A DATE. The insertion indicator is ‘hugged by’.
21 Strip of Dundee requiring some alterations
DENUDE
(DUNDEE)*
22 One aids evacuation of soldiers up in eastern area
ENEMA
An insertion of MEN reversed in E and A. The insertion indicator is ‘in’.
24 Early man found by academician on embankment?
ADAM
A charade of A and DAM.
25 Pretty-looking female with wind
FAIR
A charade of F and AIR.
Many thanks to Hoskins for this Sunday’s puzzle.
Well spotted on the nina, I was stuck thinking is the some white connection. Cheers Pierre and Harry.
Loi KARRIE 😐
I found this relatively challenging for a Hoskins puzzle. Even though I spotted “white”, I missed the Nina which made the extremely obscure KARRIE hard to solve, but overall this puzzle was great fun as ever.
I can’t make any sense out of the surface for 10a. Is there such a thing as “moon regent”?
For me, BADLANDS and TOURING CAR are American terms and so should have been indicated.
HITMEN was my favourite.
Many thanks to Harry and Pierre.
KARRIE went in with a bit of a shrug: are there any famous Karrie’s? I guess that should have tipped me off to the nina but it didn’t so I just had the unexplained WHITE at the top. Very much the drug and drink fuelled cluing we have come to expect – with a tad of religion thrown in (I have never seen one of this setter’s Church Times crosswords – I wonder if those are religion fuelled with a tad of drug and drink thrown in?)
WALLFLOWER, TOURING CAR and the excellent DENUDE were my favourites. Whilst I enjoy self-deprecation from setters, I did feel 12d was a tough definition. There are many things Hoskins could be/is so how we are meant to suspect SADDO as one of them, I don’t know.
Thanks Hoskins and Pierre
Rabbit Dave @3 – ‘moon’ is a verb in the surface reading of 10a.
Thanks Hoskins and Pierre
I don’t think I’ve previously seen a nina that cuts across the corners the way this one does.
No 1 for me is ADEQUATE, liked the definition and surface. Also LOLL. Thanks Pierre and Hoskins.
I spotted the Nina! REMARKABLE indeed.
I too shrugged at WALLFLOWER, and didn’t parse IN ON. Otherwise gentle fare to ease me into my Sunday.
Thanks Pierre and Hoskins.
Rabbit Dave@3. The ages old British Touring Car Championship might not think they’re American. I’d have sedan for the US family car. But darn tootin’ for BADLANDS…
No chance parsing AD LIB, but interesting to see a new way of indicating one of A-G instead of “note”.
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen Karrie with a K, but worth it for the Dad pun.
I found “What does the flower of something mean? The best of a particular group or type” on Cambridge Dictionary.
Thanks Hoskins and Pierre.
Will I ever remember the device of chess board file letters? I doubt it! Almost anything can be construed as a person’s given name nowadays, however rare. I only learned about recreational drug use when I came to Indie puzzles. Thanks Hoskins and Pierre.
Wrt to ‘flower’ = ELITE, Agincourt was noted as the battle in which the flower of French chivalry was destroyed – or, poetically, plucked. And the unofficial Scottish anthem, Flower of Scotland, is referring to the warriors of the land, not the thistle. Works fine in my book.
Harry’s self-deprecation in SADDO made me smile and the others that particularly appealed were BADLANDS, HITMEN & ADEQUATE.
Many thanks to Hoskins and to Pierre sans birdies for the review.
Thanks both. I was entertained by the Nina, which also assisted me to complete. KARRIE appears contrived for the purpose already acknowledged here, and I had to check it even exists as an English name. The angle for SADDO I have seen before, but am not a fan of it, not specifically on this occasion because the setter’s name doesn’t show online until requested, just that it feels subjective and insular