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geeker

11th December 2021, 01:03
Thanks to Brendan for a Prize which I found extremely difficult.
FOI 1. LOI was 21, which took about a third of the total solving time to figure out!
COD 3 over 21, 12, 7 and 13.
Perhaps I'm just tired on a Friday evening (US) but quite a few clues were highly challenging IMO.
I didn't notice a theme (so what else is new?), but [SPOILER ALERT] I believe the puzzle is a pangram, so if you're stuck it might help to think of answers containing unusual letters. ;-)
Going to take a rest after overexertion. Good luck! Could be an active discussion.
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geeker

11th December 2021, 01:13
[Added] My brain hurts too much to count fully, but I believe this Prize is a double pangram. I only thought of it because the very recent Independent 10,967 by Quince, a completely new setter to me, was a double pangram which I didn't spot.
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jono

11th December 2021, 05:19
I’ve just seen that The Guardian have quietly reinstated the actual Prize. If you’re completing online or in the app, and don’t have the paper, then the postal details are in the pdf. This was the case last week apparently but I didn’t realise until I read the blog this morning.
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jono

11th December 2021, 07:49
Definitely tricky, but lots to like, and some clever devices, 14d, 8a, 19a, 4d stood out.
LOI was 15, which I’m not convinced is really a word.
I’m also not sure what the asterisks mean in 1d, but I’m probably missing something obvious. Was about to say I hadn’t parsed 21 as yet, but the penny dropped as I was typing!
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hotelwhiskey7

11th December 2021, 08:22
They're to replace the letters of 'damn' for politeness, [and to make the clue work].

Interestingly, Guardian editorial policy is to print swear words in full...

https://www.theguardian.com/media/mind-your-language/2012/jul/22/mind-your-language-asterisks-swearwords
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johnson

11th December 2021, 08:58
I thought it was really hard…. Not convinced about some of the parsing: 3d and 19d.
My FOI was 15a (is it really a word?)
COD was 25a and 21a

Thanx Brendan for a great puzzle
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hotelwhiskey7

11th December 2021, 09:07
19D is straightforward- perhaps too much so - omit the indicated letters.

3D - quite the opposite - and too good to spoil by posting the answer, with apologies… it really is quite clever.
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ianwil

11th December 2021, 09:17
3d Think of a famous 6 letter fictional physician. Remove 2 letters (a third).
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maskelyne

11th December 2021, 11:01
I can’t quite parse 4D. Any clues? Seems to be straightforward but isn’t!
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jono

11th December 2021, 11:05
Maskelyne, think double
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