Hoskins has the Sunday Independent puzzle for us, with the usual helping of ribaldry.
Drugs and alcohol, as ever, but the addition this week of a collection of slang words for the membrum virile, clued in by MEMBER at 8dn. We have SHAFT, CHOPPER, TOOL, KNOB, ORGAN, ROD, WINKLE, PECKER and PLONKER. With HARDENED and PENalISed thrown in for good measure.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
cad clue as definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
1 Johnny and Mark could be officially OK
RUBBER-STAMP
A charade of RUBBER in its condom sense and STAMP.
7 Welsh earl heading to major Shropshire town
WEM
A charade of W, E and M for the initial letter of ‘major’.
9 A vertical passageway? Quiet at the back!
SHAFT
A charade of SH and AFT.
10 My nude pose mostly excited Hoskins, for example
PSEUDONYM
(MY NUDE POS[E])* with ‘excited’ as the anagrind.
11 A pilsner drunk by German back on the sauce?
RELAPSING
A charade of (A PILSNER)* and G. The anagrind is ‘drunk’.
12 The French could quarantine sick in this city
LILLE
An insertion of ILL in LE. The insertion indicator is ‘could quarantine’.
13 One getting high from, and later coming down on, H?
CHOPPER
A cd. A helicopter might well take off from, and later land on, a base marked with an H.
15 Implement gyration of booty
TOOL
A reversal of LOOT.
18 After turning over, make love with boss
KNOB
A reversal of BONK.
20 One shielding joint quietly had knocked back a couple of lines
PATELLA
A charade of P, ATE and ALL reversed.
23 One supporting a painter’s current work?
EASEL
A cd.
24 Tense trader’s rear banker ruddy pinched on the sly
TROUSERED
A charade of T, R for the last letter of ‘trader’, OUSE for the river, and RED.
26 Quickly look over small defender in reserves
KEEPS BACK
A reversal of PEEK followed by S and BACK.
27 Men brought back horse for a music producer
ORGAN
A charade of OR and NAG reversed.
28 Fisherman in Ohio breaking flipping bones
ROD
An insertion of O for ‘Ohio’ in DR reversed. ‘Bones’ is slang for ‘doctor’.
29 Denser idiot must get bewildered and confused
DISORIENTED
(DENSER IDIOT)* with ‘must get bewildered’ as the anagrind.
Down
1 Possibly put a cap on shivering critters?
RESTRICT
(CRITTERS)* with ‘shivering’ as the anagrind.
2 Totally support everyone in live format getting half cut
BE ALL FOR
An insertion of ALL in BE and FOR[MAT]. The insertion indicator is ‘in’.
3 Listen with zeal to each plonk being brought over
EAT UP
A charade of EA and PUT reversed.
4 More sentimental wimp must get support
SOPPIER
A charade of SOP and PIER.
5 A crew injecting heroin on a mountain top?
AHEIGHT
An insertion of H in A and EIGHT. The insertion indicator is ‘injecting’.
6 A bloated criminal beneath bow of police vessel
PEDAL BOAT
A charade of P for the initial letter of ‘police’ and (A BLOATED)* with ‘criminal’ as the anagrind.
7 Piece of seafood sparkles after being shelled
WINKLE
[T]WINKLE[S]
8 After dumping soldiers, recollect one of many here?
MEMBER
[RE]COLLECT and the gateway clue to the other synonyms.
14 Barking spaniel my boss subjected to discipline
PENALISED
A charade of (SPANIEL)* and ED. The anagrind is ‘barking’.
16 Burning to get a hold of large queen for sure!
ALL RIGHT
An insertion of L and R in ALIGHT. The insertion indicator is ‘to get hold of’.
17 Incorrigible husband perhaps did some weeding topless
HARDENED
A charade of H and [G]ARDENED.
19 Rats on board tucked into cream for the most part
BETRAYS
An insertion of TRAY in BES[T]. The insertion indicator is ‘tucked into’.
20 That Bow lass after wine becomes a fool
PLONKER
A charade of PLONK and ‘ER.
21 One quickly kissing noble hugging man in pants?
PECKER
An insertion of CK for Calvin Klein in PEER. The insertion indicator is ‘hugging’.
22 Go up and start on cast during a broadcast
ASCEND
An insertion of C for the initial letter of ‘cast’ in A SEND.
25 Tender northern dons make some noise in bed?
SNORE
An insertion of N in SORE. The insertion indicator is ‘dons’.
Many thanks to Hoskins for this Sunday’s puzzle.
Last two days the Independent has gone all Private Eye puerile humour. I really enjoyed this puzzle . Just the right level of challenge and humour for quiet Sunday morning.
NHO Wem . But easily guessed
Thanks Hoskins and Pierre
Never seen or heard ‘aheight’ before, but I shall be using it as much as possible in future! Much enjoyed so thanks Hoskins and Pierre.
The penis mightier than the sword for Hoskins. Great fun. Thanks, both.
Who else could have set this? Great fun from start to finish. Thanks to Hoskins.
I couldn’t parse 13a, so thanks to Pierre for the explanation.
Petert @3: very droll!
Hoskins showing off, once again, his upstanding character.
Thanks both
😊
The bowler’s Holding. The batsman’s…
Who else but Hoskins can brighten up a dreary NYC morning in such a lovely way. Thanks to him and Pierre for our blog!
Trust our ‘Arry’ to set the tone for a Sunday! Must admit that PLONKER was new to me used in this vein – thought it was just how Del Boy referred to the useless Rodney!
Thanks to Hoskins for broadening my repertoire and to Pierre for the review.
I know he’s revered in these parts, and for good reason. And that is a great set of clues. But if a new compiler was to be published with this grid of answers I doubt they would be receiving such universal approval as Hoskins is here.
Schoolboy humour in the extreme. No grumbles from a clueing perspective, and sorry Pierre but I haven’t gone through the blog. I will assume it’s your usual excellent standard.
On to Monday. I expect I’ll be moaning that Filbert is too difficult for me!
As with yesterday, pretty much a perfect puzzle…
…for helping to illustrate why there are so few female compilers in UK crosswords.