My old mucker Harry returns for a Monday workout
Usual sex, drugs & rock&roll as you’d expect, I see Hoskins no longer disrespectfully clues her late Maj and this time no Serpent either.
There’s a nice grid entry in the middle of DUVETS & ASLEEP, wishful thinking maybe or just POLICE ADVICE. Well actually around the perimeter we have a rare Hoskins Nina – the lyrics from one of their songs DE DO DO DO – DE DA DA DA
Over to you chaps & chapesses
STAR – celeb & leading letters of V(isits) E(very) D(ive)
EX – old flame & alternate letters of hArLoTs
ST(reet) in AI or rather A1 – excellent
Sounds like a LIVELY spirited HOOD gangster
[THIS SIDE]* playing
Cryptic cum literal
PO – Italian river & LICE – parasites
A & a bit of D(eviancy) & VICE – immoral acts
No T(ime) in (t)ANG – smack & ALE reversed
Start of S(ummer) inside a deviant [UPS DOPE]*
A beaten [HEATED CELT]*
J(oint) in BOO – heckle
Last of (bee)R removed from T(r)AMP – vagabond & A
Most of our French blogger (well ok he isn’t actually) PIERR(e) & a headless (s)OT – drunk
Cryptic cum double def
A topless (r)EVOLVE – go round
FLAT – penthouse inside DEED – act
No L(iberal) in (L)OATH
An ingredient of deliciouS US HIghly
STUD – goer in a sexual way – rampant reversed – upright with (V(ery) & E(xcited)) inserted.
[TOM OWES]* pounded. Well it’s not a threesome or more exotic.
A mixed up [RIBALD RIOT]* I know it’s not Pierre today but have a bird link: Tailorbird
P(riest) & UN – A in French & GENT – bloke
A bum [HAD SCRAP]*
Out for the count, AS – when & EP – record after edges of L(ov)E
Another bird time. Two similar synonyms for go, PEE & WEE. Also know as a magpie lark or peewit
2 Es – drugs & J(udge) & IT – sex
Egyptian belly dancer, hidden in rueil – mALMAison
Good fun as ever from Harry with a nice Nina to boot.
I needed to Google the 13d bird, which was new to me, and I feel sure that the setter is not a 21d.
Many thanks to Hoskins for lots of smiles and to flashling for the review.
Very enjoyable, witty and clever throughout, for me a little trickier than his Sunday offerings, which is when I usually encounter Hoskins. Great Nina too.
I was slow to spot both the lurkers, as usual the hyphenated words throwing me and both 24a and 21d where the definitions, though funny, are a bit loose.
I thought that in the context of the rest of the puzzle DUVET had a nicely disguised definition, I also particularly liked POLICE, the amusing PUNGENT and ASLEEP.
Many thanks Hoskins and flashling.
Didn’t even think to look for the Nina and wouldn’t have recognised it if I had. Lots of good fun as expected. I am happy to take our setter’s ADVICE regarding the activities mentioned at 16a and like RD @1, I don’t think he’s an EEJIT.
Didn’t know ALMA, or its other variant spellings and I’ve learnt that the “mudlark”, a bird that is very common hereabouts, is also known as a PEEWEE.
Thanks to Hoskins and flashling – you’ve done Pierre proud
In the book I’m currently reading, EEJIT is used almost as a term of endearment to describe someone who enjoys playing the fool so I reckon it describes Hoskins rather well!
Good fun puzzle as always from Harry and I particularly liked ADVICE, DANISH BLUE and the aforementioned EEJIT.
Thanks to Hoskins and to flashling for the review – good of you to include a Pierre bird link.
Excellent! At 21D, is our setter referring to ‘previous’, I wonder? Surely not! Thanks Hoskins and Flashlight.
Found this quite hard going in fact and had to check TAILORBIRD and ALMA. Also had PEEPEE initially as I didn’t know that bird either. Chuckled to see BOJO though. He really must be on his way out if it’s now crossword Gk that he’s disgraced and an ex-PM!
18 ANGELA Rayner & beergate? Though I hadn’t heard any allegations of smack use. Just Gove on blow.
23 I’ve been in a few pubs called the ALMA, named after the river in Crimea.
14/16 The Met POLICE ADVICE to women to ‘shout or wave a bus down’ if they don’t trust a male officer. Complete DOo-DOo.
6d Alluding to BOZO the PIERROT and Jennifer Arcuri?
I liked the bird links, too.
So: birds, booze, sex, drugs and rock’n’roll – my kind of puzzle! But then I’m a “feckin’ EEJIT” according to my dad.
Thanks H&f