This was the second time that I had come to the Wednesday puzzle expecting to have to cross swords with Dac and finding Hoskins instead.
My first experience of Hoskins had Sunderland A.F.C. as a ghost theme; if this puzzle has such a ghost theme, then I haven’t spotted it. Perhaps more eagle-eyed solvers have observed something …
Theme or no theme, I found this to be a high-quality and thoroughly entertaining puzzle. Hoskins had the last laugh on me today, in that I had wrongly solved 15 and, although I had assumed the right answer for 16, I hadn’t understood the wordplay – “gemmologist” not being a word I knew with a double “m” – and so dismissed it. I needed to see the online solution to confirm both these answers.
As for clues I particularly enjoyed, they are numerous, although my favourites have to be 23 and 28, in both cases for sauciness and humour. I also very much appreciated 12 and 22, for their smooth surface readings.
*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues
| Across | ||
| 01 | ALTERNATIVE VOTE | What may get solvers to veto electoral system
“Alternative vote” could be the wordplay of a cryptic clue for “veto”, hence “what may get solvers to” |
| 09 | DIRECTION | Leadership engineers cracking speech
RE (=engineers, i.e. Royal Engineers) in DICTION (=speech, i.e. how one speaks) |
| 10 | SHEER | Thin, heroin-taking type that’s seen it all before?
H (=heroin) in SEER (=type that’s seen it all before (everyone else), i.e. prophet) |
| 11 | ODDISH | Somewhat strange short poem by Lamb?
OD<e> (=poem; “short” means last letter dropped) + DISH (=lamb, i.e. with lower-case initial) |
| 12 | STUD WALL | Almost read everything on wide division in House
STUD<y> (=read, e.g. at university; “almost” means last letter dropped) + W (=wide, on cricket scorecard) + ALL (=everything); a stud wall is one made of upright timbers to which laths and plasterboard are attached, often used to partition a larger space, hence “division in house” |
| 13 | DEEPIE | 3D flick or sad film daughter preferred to western
WEEPIE (=sad film); “daughter (=D) preferred to western (=W)” means letter “w” is replaced by a “d” |
| 15 | COUGHING | Hacking that may get one into an NHS system?
Cryptic definition: hacking is to be understood as coughing and not as breaking into an IT system |
| 18 | DECANTER | Dance around row, having lost one’s bottle
*(DANCE) + T<i>ER (=row; “having lost one (=1)” means letter “i” dropped; “around” is anagram indicator |
| 19 | HOBNOB | Hot alumnus requiring aristocrat to “rub shoulders”
H (=hot, e.g. on top) + OB (=alumnus, i.e. old boy) + NOB (=aristocrat) |
| 21 | SCARCELY | Just chilling outside church with lecturer
[CH (=church) + L (=lecturer)] in SCARY (=chilling) |
| 23 | BODEGA | Basque shop makes elderly old bishop keel over
AGED (=elderly) + O (=old) + B (=bishop); “keel over” indicates reversal; the “Basque” in the definition refers to the Basque country and not to women’s underwear! |
| 26 | UNTIE | A French Connection release?
UN (=a French, i.e. the French word for a) + TIE (=connection) |
| 27 | AMERICANO | Nice aroma put out by this?
*(NICE AROMA); “put out” is anagram indicator; semi- & lit. |
| 28 | BORE THE PANTS OFF | What dullard’s seduction technique may do?
Cryptically, a dullard might need to bore someone to get their pants off, i.e. seduce them! |
| Down | ||
| 01 | ANDROID | OS add-in or put in a different format?
*(ADD-IN OR); “put in a different format” is anagram indicator; the OS of the definition is an IT operating system |
| 02 | TIRED | Tory leader high on drugs, head gone … zonked
T<ory> (“leader” means first letter only) + <w>IRED (=high on drugs; “head gone” means first letter is dropped) |
| 03 | RECESSION | One cries out about southern downturn
S (=southern) in *(ONE CRIES); “out” is anagram indicator |
| 04 | AS IF | When partner’s extremities go like hell
AS (=when) + <w>IF<e> (=partner; “extremities go” means first and last letters are dropped) |
| 05 | IGNITION | One mixing gin and it on Countdown’s end?
I (=one) + *(GIN + IT ON); “mixing” is anagram indicator; the “Countdown” of the definition refers to a countdown to e.g. blast-off, lift-off and not to the C4 quiz programme! |
| 06 | EASED | With a pound off rent day was made less painful
<l>EASE (=rent; “with a pound (=L) off” means letter “l” is dropped) + D (=day) |
| 07 | OPERATION | Agency work helping to look after earl
OP (=work, i.e. opus) + E (=earl) + RATION (=helping) |
| 08 | EARPLUG | Silencer lawman once put on sawn-off luger
EARP (=lawman, i.e. US gambler and lawman Wyatt Earp) + LUG<er> (“sawn-off” means (here) last two letters are dropped) |
| 14 | ENCHANTER | How Danny Dyer may charm female magician?
Cryptically, Danny Dyer – who plays Mick Carter in Eastenders – would “enchant (h)er”, i.e. dropping his aitches as a Cockney! |
| 16 | GEOLOGIST | Stones fan dumping married male scientist
GE<mm>OLOGIST (=stones fan, i.e. fan of gemstones, not the Rolling Stones!); “married (=M) male (=M) dumped” means letters “mm” are dropped |
| 17 | WELL-MADE | Really nutty English stout, perhaps
WELL (=really) + MAD (=nutty, crazy) + E (=English) |
| 18 | DISTURB | Upset dry wine after abrupt insult – bother!
DIS<s> (=insult; “abrupt” means last letter dropped) + TURB (BRUT=dry wine; “upset” indicates vertical reversal) |
| 20 | BEAT OFF | To repel, act like a member of the upper-class?
Cryptically, to “be a toff” would be to “act like a member of the upper-class” |
| 22 | CHEAT | Welsh rabbit with bit of Edam in it
E<dam> (“bit of” means first letter only) in CHAT (=rabbit, as verb) |
| 24 | ERATO | A tenor supporting Queen, Love or Muse
ER (=Queen) + A + T (=tenor) + O (=love, i.e. zero score) |
| 25 | MEGA | Wicked old lady stealing key, then Golf
[E (=key, in music) in G (=golf, in radio telecommunication)] in MA (=old lady); mega and wicked are slang words for excellent, brilliant |
Thanks Hoskins and RR
A very enjoyable puzzle.
Pedantically (I used to be a builders merchant), STUD WALLS consist of uprights (STUDS) with horizontal inserts (NOGGINS), to which plasterboard is fixed. Laths are horizontal strips fitted all the way up a timber frame, to give something for wet plaster to stick to, and were used before brick or block walls became commonplace.
For what it’s worth I couldn’t find a theme either but could have easily missed it. I liked this, with some deceptively easy looking clues such as WELL-MADE and SCARCELY turning out to be quite tricky. Hadn’t heard of the terms DEEPIE or STUD WALL before and guessed AMERICANO which I assume is a cigar. My favourites were the ‘dullard’s seduction technique…’, CHEAT and COUGHING.
Thanks to Hoskins for a good after-work puzzle and to RatkojaRiku.
Americano is US for what in the UK we call black coffee. Apparently they are scared that the term “black coffee” may be interpreted as racist. The notion of a “white Americano” is a contradiction in terms, despite often being requested in coffee bars.
Thanks Meic @3 – had no idea about that and didn’t even think of coffee. Worth keeping in mind for future clues even if I won’t be asking for one, by that name anyway, as my kick-starter tomorrow a.m.
Most enjoyable puzzle (not quite as good as the Sunderland-themed one, of course).
Nice touches of wit: I especially liked BORE THE PANTS OFF, IGNITION and BEAT OFF. Danny Dyer? Who he?
DEEPIE was new to me (but then I’m an old person). And well done, RR for a fine blog as usual, and especially for parsing GEOLOGIST, which I never would have seen in a million years.
I think it was Paul B/Tees who was thinking of starting an online petition or some such to ban ERATO in crosswords. It wouldn’t get very far, ‘cos there’s naff all else that fits E?A?O.
Bravo, Hoskins.
Loved it, thanks Barry Hoskins and RR. Harry, step away from the drinks trolley 🙂
Grr bloody autocorrect. Harry, there it worked time.
Highly enjoyable; DEEPIE eh? That was a new one on me, but very well clued so gettable, but I really struggled with MEGA, also very well clued, but a dnf for me there, annoyingly.
AMERICANO was no problem; I’ve spent a fair bit of time in various US coffee joints and have a passable knowledge of the barista’s argot. My favourite example is a decaf skinny latte which is known, sotto voce, as a “why bother?”
Thanks to Hoskins and to RR for a lovely blog
Very nice puzzle with some inventive clueing. Loved the elderly bishop.
Excellent crossword from my near neighbour (?!).
I especially liked 23ac, 1d, 4d and the original take on ERATO (with musical references from different eras).
I hesitated to enter OPERATION (7ac) because of ‘to look’ – looked a bit odd.
Unless, it is OP + RATION, together around E – that would make sense.
Tomorrow, it would take a giant to present an even better crossword.
Wait and see!
My thanks to RR for the great blog and to all who took the time to solve and comment – always appreciated.
I was thrilled to get Danny Dyer in as ’tis my mission to make him as standard as Spooner in crossworld and today, with the kind allowance of MH, was the first step on the road to his Cockney indicator ubiquity … or not, of course.
I can assure Phil that both Barry and Harry are getting nowhere near that drinks trolley due to my doing some super stealthy advanced drinks trolleying last night. The result of which is a bastard behind the eyes and there only being the obligatory Advocaat and Ouzo left amongst the loudly jangling – too loudly for the poor Hoskinsian hungover head – empty bottles Mrs Jalopy is currently wheeling round the office much to the consternation of several thirsty setters.
Oh well, another day done and chin chin and cheers to all …
… now, where did you say that all-night offy was again? 🙂