Independent 10,865 by Hoskins

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An enjoyable puzzle from the reliable Hoskins

There were some nice anagrams and one decent CD. I had a couple of minor quibbles.

ACROSS
1 MOTHER SUPERIOR
Nun and hot prior resume fooling around (6,8)

(Hot prior resume)*
9 SOUPCON
Little drink Tory laced with drop of ouzo (7)

(Sup + con) around o[uzo]
10 NUCLEAR
A Parisian backing patent for a type of bomb (7)

Un<(French for "a") + clear(=patent, as in patently obvious)
11 IDEAL
I give out cards of the most desirable quality (5)

I + deal(i.e. deal cards)
12 INCIDENTS
Criminal intends to take over half of city events (9)

Intends* around ci[ty]
13 FUDGE
Female arbiters throwing out case? Sweet! (5)

F{emale} + [J]udge[s]
15 GREAT DANE
Dog tag earned having gone through training (5,4)

(Tag earned)*
17 HALITOSIS
What could make my pants offensive to others? (9)

CD, referring to pants of breath as opposed to trousers or underwear.
20 PULSE
Beat up revolutionary by university in London (5)

Up< + LSE (=London School of Economics)
22 AGINCOURT
Spirit haunting a hall of justice in Battle (9)

Gin in (a court)
24 ENNUI
Drug news you texted primarily increases weariness (5)

E(=ecstasy) + NN(n{ew} twice) + U + i[ncreases]
26 EXAMPLE
Old and handsome model (7)

Ex + ample(=handsome, as in a handsome amount)
27 AIRDRIE
Wind that’s besetting doctor in Scottish town (7)

(Air(=wind) + i.e.) around Dr
28 MAN IN THE STREET
Joe Bloggs or Ken Barlow? (3,2,3,6)

CD/DD (ref to Coronation Street)
DOWN
1 MASTIFF
Old lady having row about small dog (7)

Ma + tiff around s{mall}
2 TRUCE
Conservative breaks genuine peaceful agreement (5)

C{onservative} in true
3 EXCELLENT
Superb spreadsheet provided for limited time? (9)

Excel + lent. Being pedantic, I'd say Excel is a spreadsheet application rather than a spreadsheet, although people may occasionally say something like "I'll send you my Excel".
4 SINKING
Offend royal that’s boring? (7)

Sin + king
5 PANACHE
Dash of red seen below bowl on side of armoire (7)

Che(Guevara, archetypal red) under (pan(=bowl) + a[rmoire])
6 RACED
Vacuous reverend injecting whizz was rushing (5)

R[everen]d around ace(=whizz, slang used in expressions like "he's a whizz at this").
7 ONE AND ALL
Everybody on ale out of it, having also snorted line (3,3,3)

((On ale)* + and(=also)) around l{ine}
8 CRUSOE
Castaway from ship’s company dead, so the radio said (6)

Don't get this. The clue seems to work fine as a hom of "crew + so". I can't see how to fit dead in there and it seems redundant.
14 DALAI LAMA
A maid all up over a religious leader (5,4)

(A maid all)* around a
16 TOP SECRET
Extremely sensitive setter cop tickled? (3-6)

(Setter cop)*
17 HEATED
Fiery editor sat on by police in America (6)

Heat(=slang for police) on ed{itor}.
18 STUDENT
Trainee nurse picked up by boss on time (7)

EN(=enrolled nurse) in stud + t{ime}
19 SITUATE
Model had to secure university place (7)

(Sit(=model, as in sit for a painting etc) + ate(=had e.g. for dinner)) around u{niversity}
21 EMINENT
Famous Young British Artist chap initially ignored (7)

Emin (Tracey Emin, part of the Young British Artist movement, although now 58, so not particularly young) + [g]ent
23 CAPRI
Vehicle one brought across quiet island (5)

(Car + I) around p(=piano, quiet)
25 NURSE
Tend to swear after nationalist ousts leader (5)

Curse with n{ationalist} replacing the leading letter.

12 comments on “Independent 10,865 by Hoskins”

  1. All the usual fun from Hoskins starting with a cracker of a clue in 1a. The whole puzzle was excellent and my top two were 1a & 28a.

    I was hoping that the reviewer would be able to explain the role of DEAD in 8d, but he seems as much in the dark as me on this one.

    Many thanks to Hoskins and to Neal.

  3. Thanks Hoskins and NealH

    I passed over the apparently redundant ‘dead’ in 8D, but if Hovis is right then surely the ‘so’ is then superfluous?

  4. Thanks both. I parsed 8d in the sense of something being ‘dead good’ being ‘so good’ therefore the so is unfortunate, and the clue might end better reading ‘according to the radio’

  5. Maybe the “so” in the clue is there deliberately to confuse. We all know Hoskins is inherently evil 😉

  6. I thoroughly enjoyed this. The clues for MOTHER SUPERIOR & HALITOSIS are just fantastic, I think.
    Many thanks to Hoskins and NealH

  7. Great fun, as usual from Hoskins. I’m with Hovis @5 in thinking the “extra so” in 8d was a deliberate off-putter. Some great surfaces – loved the nun and prior, the offensive pants and the superb spreadsheet. Favourite was that castaway, though. Thanks to Hoskins and NealH

  8. A gentle start to the week but very enjoyable nonetheless. Didn’t really get the CRUSOE parsing either but the answer was obvious. Top two clues for me were HALITOSIS & EXCELLENT.
    Thanks to Hoskins & NealH

  9. I must confess that I didn’t even notice the apparently redundant ‘dead’ in 8d (lazy clue-reading and I had the answer). In retrospect I agree with TFO@4 and Hovis@5 – ‘so the radio said’ = ‘according to the radio’ and why wouldn’t Hoskins choose the more misleading / cryptic option?
    Thanks to Hoskins for an enjoyable crossword and to Neal for the blog.

  10. Another little gem from the master of innuendo – nobody does it quite as cleverly or inoffensively as our Harry!
    I did wonder about the use of ‘dead’ in 8d but have to admit that I solved the clue and moved on.
    Tops for me were MOTHER SUPERIOR & MAN IN THE STREET.

    Thanks to Hoskins and to Neal for the review.

  12. Many thanks to Neal for the fine blog and to all who solved and commented.

    I shoulda used a different hom ind. for the Crusoe clue – just an oversight on my part rather than anything more devious (it is a Monday after all).

    Jane@10 – I dunno whether I am a master of innuendo or whether Eimi is a master of publishing the less spicy of my puzzles … but one of the two is defo true. 🙂

    Cheers and chin chin to all and, unless there is some bumpage, I look forward to seeing you all again in two weeks on the 23rd August. 🙂

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