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Thanks to Paul for a challenging but highly entertaining Prize this week. Clearly themed, but the theme doesn't exactly jump off the page.

Very much on the tough end of the spectrum IMO; had great difficulty getting started (only scattered short solutions) until I luckily guessed the theme. Then made steady progress, slowed by various clever/tricky clues.

Suspected a pangram, but not quite. No obvious naughty "Pauline" constructions.

FOI 1d, LOI 8.

Going with 18 as COD, but (10,24), 13, 12 and 8 are close. The "long list" for COD also includes 25, 27, 17, 11 and 15.

Funny: it looks as though Paul may follow Clueless on the forum! 🤣

SPOILER ALERT FOR THEME: https://tinyurl.com/ktrxvdxr

Curious about other solvers' opinions. I often struggle with Prizes due to Friday evening fatigue, so some might find this puzzle a breeze.

Hi geeker,
And a happy next year to you and others.
This was a struggle and took me more than my allotted hour.
The pay off was the number of smiles as I realised what he meant. I didn’t help myself by putting the wrong type of 20d - I had a pig part instead, despite the answer staring me in the face. Very inventive.
Still, there is a feeling of satisfaction to get it all done.

Hi Geeker,

Well, as if this wasn't tough enough already, I had to go and put in the wrong (but better fits the wordplay?) answer to 22a (see below) and, inexplicably, 20d -"knuckle"!? This made solving the SE corner impossible, so I knew I had most likely gone wrong somewhere.

Like you I had trouble teasing out the theme, but somehow managed to get the related 16, 6,2 and 10,24 before I got 1 across, although they obviously helped in pointing me in the right direction.

If you do get stuck there is at least one long anagram and one hidden, both in the downs.

22a - this is the only clue in which I still have a ? over the wordplay HOLD THE PHONE!! it say "gasping" not "grasping" - problem solved and note to self - read the @$?& clues properly!!

COD - I'm going with the minimalist and elegant 19a - Lector's failed to notice a title (6)

Thanks to Paul to a very challenging but rewarding crossword.

Looking forward to reading the views of others - did you find it as difficult as Geeker and I or were we just off the pace today?

Stay safe:-)

Hi Mystogre,

20d - I see you made the same error as me:-)

20 was my lucky clue! I guessed a word based purely on the bottom 3 (of 4) crossers, and after mulling it over finally figured out the theme.

I half agree with you geeker. Definitely challenging, but not so entertaining. To me at least it seemed there were relatively few nice clues. I did get the theme somewhat quickly, although I couldn’t get a single across entry, and being that I was going in clue order, 1d was my FOI. However, that was all I needed to get 1a. Did that make the going easier from then on? Not so much, although a few of the thematic items came quickly, especially 6,2. As you observed, we had the advantage there with the recent Clueless competition. 😉 I have 13 as the only clue worthy of COD. All in all, it took just shy of an hour, about twice as long as usual for me.

Appears I didn't find this as tricky as some earlier posters.
Was fortunate to hit upon the theme by solving 20, 21 early although 4 was actually my FOI. The rest seemed to follow relatively quickly. 19 was LOI as I mulled over the parsing for a while even though the solution seemed obvious.
My COD 25.
Thanks Geeker and Paul and HNY to all.

A very difficult one, only 9 clues done to date FOI 3d. Onwards and upwards

I used 20/21 and then 16 to back into 1 and the other themed items. 16 made me laugh and 8 is rather sweet. Bronx cheer a new one for me.

If anyone’s interested there’s a post my Mitz over on 225 with all the Guardian setter stats for 2022 and some upcoming milestones. Worth a read.

I’m half with johnnykimgsman on this, in that I found it almost too easy once I got into it, with a sub-30 minute completion, but nevertheless found it entertaining and therefore over too quickly. Perhaps I’m just on Paul’s wavelength having done so many of his crosswords over the years. I struggled much more with the Independent’s Saturday (non-Prize) crossword, but then I often struggle when I move directly from one setter to another - a quick change of wavelength too much to ask after midnight perhaps?