Independent 9725 / Hoskins

18 comments on “Independent 9725 / Hoskins”

1. What B&J said.

2. Thanks, B and J. Like copmus, I echo every word of your preamble. I think that’s my fastest time yet for a Hoskins solve but there wasn’t a scrap less enjoyment in it,

   Huge thanks yet again, Harry, for the fun.

3. Thanks, both.

   Sound and straightforward puzzle which will do for me this morning. FROZEN FOOD was my favourite because it made me smile, and I also learned that RICIN is a naturally-occurring protein. I never knew that.

   Thanks too to Hoskins.

4. Can’t really add to the above so shall simply echo others in their praise for the beautifully constructed, if quite easy, clues. Bravo!

5. Echo above, some funny and very good stuff.

   Re 6A, I have a sister-in-law who lives on a farm at Kalangadoo (population about 300), in the south-east of South Australia. Excellent farming country and I’ll bet the first time it has ever featured in an Indy (perhaps any) crossword.

   Thanks to Hoskins and Bertandjoyce.

6. Thought 27 an absolute cracker, possibly my fastest ever Indy solve but very enjoyable. Keep it up Harry.

7. Agree with all the above. Really appreciated no niggles re stretched synonyms and that once a clue was
   solved both the answer and its parsing were clearly correct. Co- solver liked the grid inasmuch all quarters well interconnected. (Doesn’t make his lunchtime being presented with almost four separate crosswords. )

   Thanks to both. More like this please Hoskins.

8. What can one add to the general acclaim already expressed? Easy, yes, but so well constructed with it.

   We even liked the golf-related 23, but thought at first that Harry had overlooked the possibility of capitalising ‘Woods’ – then we realised that the surface was just perfect with a lower-case ‘w’.

   But our favourites were EXTRACTOR and BLOWTORCH for their surfaces.

   Thanks, Hoskins and B&J.

9. More good fun from Harry – certainly at the easier end of his repertoire.
   I particularly liked the brevity of 24a & 3d and the surface read of 20d – put me in mind of the good old days of the Youth Club members attending Sunday worship!

   Thanks to Hoskins and to B&J for the decryption.

10. I would like to echo all the praise for this puzzle, easyish but well up to Hoskins’s [double s?] standard.

    We all know that many of Harry’s surfaces are drowned in a bath of sex, drugs & booze.
    When I solved this crossword, I thought ‘don’t we all take this for granted’?
    I mean, it’s quite an achievement after having the grid filled with words, to write so many clues that have these kind of surfaces.
    It feels like our beloved setter can turn almost any English word into a ‘naughty’ clue.
    Week after week after week.
    Or does he have another (special) strategy to get this result?
    Just a thought.

    Many thanks to B&J & HH.

11. It was good to see you out walking again this morning, B&J. Thanks for drawing my attention to this puzzle. As you know, I tend to do the Guardian rather than the Indy, so this was the first time I’d seen a Hoskins effort.

    I agree with you and others here that, while it was pretty easy, it was enjoyable. I gather sex, drugs, booze, rock and roll etc. are Hoskins’ trademark. How is it that he does them so well, I wonder. 😉 Lots of good surfaces. My favourite was INEBRIATE – neat, that.

    Thanks to Hoskins and – again – to Bertandjoyce.

12. Sil & Median,
    Mrs J tells me that, purely in the interest of research, Harry spends much of his time consorting with disreputable types in the shadiest of establishments. Personally, I think that’s simply an excuse to claim his expenses back on his tax return but perhaps I’m being churlish.

13. A speedy, but very enjoyable solve for me too. I liked “here in Nice.” FROZEN FOOD made me laugh and was my FOI. GRACE brough up the rear. Smooth stuff. Thanks Harry and B&J.

14. I was expecting a quick solve, so probably set out trying to finish this as quickly as I could – and initially borked 9D by entering PROP as a result – but then went back to admire it all. A quickie it may have been, but a hugely enjoyable time nevertheless. From the get-go to the let-go, it was all great.

    The lad’s good, there’s no two ways about it.

    Many thanks to The Hosk for the fun and to B&J for the wrote-up.

15. Hoskins showing fewer teeth than usual but every bit as much of his sense of fun. So sparkly I could hang it on the tree. Many thanks to Harry and to B&J.

16. Many thanks to B&J for the super blog and to all who solved and especially those who commented.

    Just got in from being out so I’ll be brief once again as Bedfordshire calls and say Jane@12 has it all right down to a T. Thanks to all for visiting and hope to see you next Wednesday with an easy korma puzzle, but don’t wait till then to solve another Indy as the cracking Crosophile is here on the morrow.

    Cheers and chin chin to all. 🙂

17. Actually, it’s Klingsor, Harry.

18. Thanks for the correction, allan @17 – I was a bit more squiffy than usual when I got in last night. Apologies to Klingsor and to Crosophile. 🙂

Comments are closed.