Crossword Genius

Drops of the hard stuff from prince hosting yours truly (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

hail

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'drops of the hard stuff' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both related to communication as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe there's an association between them I don't understand?

'prince hosting yours truly' is the wordplay.
'prince' becomes 'hal' (I've seen this before).
'hosting' is an insertion indicator (inserted letters are welcomed in or hosted).
'yours truly' becomes 'I' (the person that set this crossword).
'hal' placed around 'i' is 'HAIL'.

'from' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for hail that I've seen before include "Precipitating ice pellets" , "Welcome - precipitation" , "Word of greeting" , "Falling ice pellets" , "Ave - it's frozen rain" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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