Thank you to Hoskins. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1. Hurry up and get big diaper on son (4,2,6)
MAKE IT SNAPPY : [MAKE IT](to get/to become big/successful and famous) + [ NAPPY(diaper/napkin of soft absorbent material to absorb a baby’s excrement) placed after(on) S(abbrev. for “son”) ].
8. A reservation about rogue in galleries? (7)
ARCADES : A + RES(abbrev. for “reservation”/a booking, say, for hotel accommodation) containing(about) CAD(a rogue/a scoundrel).
9. Soldier cried briefly, having necked rare port (7)
ANTWERP : ANT(a social animal, one of whose castes is the soldier) + “wept”(cried/shed tears) minus its last letter(briefly) containing(having necked) R(abbrev. for “rare”).
Defn: … in Belgium.
11. Drunks drinking drop of Caledonian? (5)
SCOTS : SOTS(drunks/habitual drunkards) containing(drinking) 1st letter of(drop of) “Caledonian“.
Defn: Another term for “Scottish”/relating to Scotland and things from there/….
12. Architectural feature on Odeon I’m converting (5,4)
ONION DOME : Anagram of(… converting) ON ODEON I’M.
13. One having three lines listened to stoned fancy (5)
HAIKU : Homophone of(listened to) [ “high”(stoned/under the influence of drugs) + “coo!”(like “fancy!”, an exclamation expressing surprise”) ].
Defn: A Japanese poem in three lines.
15. People often found in The Den ogling wingers? (9)
TWITCHERS : Cryptic defn: Those to be found in a blind/hideout/den ogling/watching wingers/birds.
17. Turning red if Celia throws a paddy (9)
RICEFIELD : Anagram of(Turning) [RED IF + “Celia” minus(throws) “a” ].
20. One in Red Dwarf perhaps getting a step up? (5)
STAIR : I(Roman numeral for “one”) contained in(in) STAR(an example of which/perhaps is a red dwarf/a small, old and relatively cool ball of burning gas in space).
21. Haughty Hoskins is dangerous, but not ultimately evil (9)
IMPERIOUS : I’M(“I am”/ this setter, Hoskins is, self-referentially) + “perilous”(dangerous/risky) minus last letter of(but not ultimately) “evil“.
23. A setter enthralling foremost of newspapers? (5)
ANGEL : A + GEL(setter/a liquid substance that sets/turns into a semi-solid state) contained in(enthralling) 1st letter of(foremost of) “newspapers“.
Defn: Name of … of crosswords in The Independent (which some might say is the foremost of newspapers).
25. With smells around, smell trainers? (7)
REEBOKS : REEKS(smells strongly and unpleasantly/stinks) containing(With … around) BO(abbrev. for “body odour”, unpleasant sweaty body smell).
Defn: Footwear, including trainers, produced by Reebok International Limited.
26. Joints engineers knocked back in Sandbanks (7)
REEFERS : Reversal of(… knocked back) RE(abbrev. for the Royal Engineers, a unit in the British military) contained in(in) REEFS(sandbanks/ridges of sand just above or below the sea surface).
Defn: …/cannabis cigarettes.
27. Might you say American as Barack Obama? (12)
STATESPERSON : Double defn: 1st: Whom you might call/say is call a person from the United States/an American; and 2nd: A politician who is a leader in national or international affairs, an accolade you might give President Barack Obama.
Down
1. Butch old lady sits on church official’s head (5)
MACHO : MA(like “old lady”, a familiar term for one’s mother) placed above(sits on, in a down clue) CH(abbrev. for “church”) + 1st letter of(…’s head) “official“.
2. Immature beasts ruin child’s play (4,5)
KIDS’ STUFF : KIDS(immature beasts, specifically young goats) + STUFF(informal term for alcohol or drugs – which could be one’s ruin/something that ruins one’s life, as in the old days when “gin was mother’s ruin” – I guess).
3. Where liquor-drinking drunk might find solace briefly (2,5)
IN SHORT : Where a drunk might find solace, viz. in a short/a drink of liquor in small measure.
4. Language so wantonly awful hussar is left incensed at front (7)
SWAHILI : 1st letters, respectively, of(… at front) “so wantonly awful hussar is left incensed“.
5. A criminal casing back of flat in London district (5)
ACTON : A + CON(short for “convict”, a criminal) containing(casing) last letter of(back of) “flat“.
6. Remarkable events men phone up about at summit (9)
PHENOMENA : Anagram of(… up about) MEN PHONE + 1st letter of(… summit, in a down clue) “at“.
7. Predatory flapper is cruel bride, Spooner said (5,7)
MARSH HARRIER : Spoonerism of(Spooner said) [ “harsh”(cruel/pitiless) “marrier”(a bride/one who is about to marry).
10. Don’t give so many orgasms? That’s no fun! (12)
PLEASURELESS : [PLEASURE LESS](to give less pleasure to your partner in terms of the number of orgasms, ie. fewer/not so many orgasms).
14. Just starting nice pint (I must get trashed) (9)
INCIPIENT : Anagram of(… must get trashed) NICE PINT (I.
16. Actors like being around ten flipping clappers (9)
CASTANETS : CAST(the set of actors in a play or film) + AS(like/similar to, as in similes) containing(around) reversal of(… flipping) TEN.
Defn: … clicked by the fingers:
18. Say love is nursing street people with swollen heads (7)
EGOISTS : EG(abbrev. for “exempli gratia”/for example/say) + O(letter representing 0/”love” in tennis scores) + IS containing(nursing) ST(abbrev. for “street”).
19. Merit editor’s upset and be a man! (7)
DESERVE : Reversal of( , in a down clue) ED(abbrev. for “editor”) plus(and) SERVE(to be a man/manservant and serve/attend to your employer).
22. Search hard around south for a place to sleep (5)
ROOST : ROOT(to search hard/to rummage) containing(around) S(abbrev. for “south).
24. Emerald, perhaps one with a hole in it? (5)
GREEN : Double defn: 1st: … is a shade/perhaps of this colour; and 2nd: …, out of eighteen in a regulation golf course.
Entertaining Sunday offering from Hoskins with the expected naughty wordplay in several clues.
I liked ANGEL, although for ‘setter’ not to be part of def and wordplay, the whole clue would have to be the def, making it an &lit (says he hesitantly), assuming The Independent is the ‘foremost of newspapers?’ I parsed STUFF for ‘ruin’ at 2d as a verb, as in “Don’t STUFF it (up)” = “Don’t ‘ruin’ it”, acknowledging that “up” is often added.
Thanks to (the each as prolific as the other) Hoskins and scchua
I had a slightly different parsing for 6d. I took ‘up’ as the anagram indicator and About at summit to indicate the A at the end.
In 15a I think The Den refers to the home ground of Millwall FC, so the wingers would be football players
Thanks Hoskins and scchua
While it’s an interesting idea and makes for a good surface, I don’t think you can refer to the Independent as the “foremost of newspapers” given that it is online-only.
Whilst Simon S does make a fair point about factual accuracy, I enjoyed the clue for ANGEL and, though I am never ever sure of my ground, it does appear &littish to me. Otherwise ‘A setter’ has to do double duty. The same goes for SCOTS where Caledonian otherwise has to do dd. Though it’s a slightly cruel &lit in the second case which might not endear our setter to those North of the border.
As always, a riotous romp around a grid with the usual references to sex ‘n’ drugs ‘n’ heavy drinking. All of which I enjoy. (That’s the references, naturally …) MAKE IT SNAPPY, RICEFIELD, STAIR, KIDS STUFF and INCIPIENT were favourites with MARSH HARRIER the COTD for a smashing Spoonerism.
Thanks Hoskins and scchua
Call me dim (most people do) but I still don’t understand ANGEL, unlike previous commenters apparently. In what way is ‘a setter’ = angel? Like ChrisM @3, I was tempted to enter Millwall’s stadium, but that’s only for the reckless, especially visiting supporters. Much enjoyed, so thank Hoskins and Sschua.
Thanks both. Nice level of challenge, although there are two small matters still unresolved for me….Is ‘up about’ really the anagrind in PHENOMENA as surely either would do?…..and I just don’t follow what is being identified as the definition for ANGEL – if the name of a crossword setter, it is not one I am familiar with
Tatrasman@6 We crossed! You can also call me dim if that helps at all
@tfo yes Angel is one of the Indy setters.
Thanks flashling- if I have used this site’s search function correctly (which I might have thought to do earlier) Angel has appeared once this calendar year, so I will forgive myself the memory lapse
Lots to like here but I’m not comfortable with words serving a double duty. I’m talking about ANGEL obviously. Ditto SCOTS. Is this just a new style of clueing that I have yet to become accustomed to?
Tatrasman, Angel is one of the other crossword setters for The Independent.
Thanks Flashling and Alexicon for the explanation, though Angel as a setter seems a bit of a stretch for a new solver, and seems a bit too much like an in joke to me.
TFO @7 See me @2 for a different parsing for 6d. I think ‘at summit’ to denote the first letter of ‘about’ is perfectly fair.
All the usual fun from this setter.
I was puzzled by 23a against which I wrote “no definition”. Now I’ve read the review and foregoing comments, it’s just a poor clue in my opinion.
MARSH HARRIER was my favourite.
Many thanks to Hoskins and to scchua.
Very enjoyable though perhaps not quite top-notch Harry (it’s a high bar). Needed the hint to parse 23a and tend to agree with RD.
1a was clever and funny, as were 1&16d. My top three however are MARSH HARRIER, GREEN and REEBOKS.
Many thanks indeed to Hoskins and scchua for the fun.
Had the same problems as others over the potential ‘double duty’ in SCOTS and ANGEL, but at least I remembered the Indy setter!
No particular favourite to mention but a MARSH HARRIER is always a glorious sight.
Perhaps not one from Harry’s top drawer today?
Thanks to him nevertheless and also to scchua for the review.
ANGEL and SCOTS are surely meant as &lits, so no need to quibble with the defs doing double duty. (‘Caledonian’ wouldn’t be enough to define SCOTS, would it? It needs the rest of the clue.)
I enjoyed this – I’m always impressed by how Hoskins finds room for his usual humour without the clues appearing contrived or convoluted.
That was my hesitant observation @ 5, Charlie @ 18: worked for me.
Ok, so the question marks indicate &lits. Maybe I am just not keen on &lits or maybe these particular ones didn’t quite fall into place for me. Small quibbles and personal taste.
Thanks Hoskins for always keeping crosswords fun and not a laborious chore. There were great surfaces throughout; my top choices were IMPERIOUS, REEBOKS, INCIPIENT, and the amusing Spoonerism. Thanks scchua for a most attractive blog.
Many thanks to scchua for a great blog and to all who solved and commented. I’ll be Arnie in two weeks’ time, but until then it only remains for me to say goodnight and good luck to all. 🙂