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Thanks to Pangakupu (aka Phi, the Indy's customary Friday setter) for doing double duty with this Prize. Relatively new to the Guardian, has done at least one Prize (iirc) and some Geniuses.

Breaking a string of three gentle Prizes, I found this tricky with longer than usual solving time. [I often lack confidence with unfamiliar setters.] Luckily got the two long acrosses quickly, which helped. More clues than usual challenging to parse: had to intuit solutions first and unravel wordplay later. A few solutions required Google to verify.

Spent some time searching for a pangram that didn't materialise. Not sure if there's a theme...there are some pairs/groups of solutions that seem related. If there's a Maori term lurking in the grid, I didn't notice it, but I'd be unlikely to find one. :-)

6d is a tricky word which I've considered but rejected as a Peer Review / Clueless candidate. Gratifying to see Pangakupu make it work!

FOI 11. LOI 24, which took inordinately long to figure out.

Quite a few outstanding clues. COD tie between 18 and 14d. Also enjoyed 20, 19, 21, 1d, 13 and 7.

Some really intricate parsing, as you say. I think I've worked out most of them, but it took a while. I struggled with a couple of the American references, such as 18a, which is a bit ironic since I don't live far from Chicago. Is the nonsense in 14d really just American though? I'm still a little puzzled by 21a; are there two letters missing from 'side'? Also, shouldn't there just be one calendar page in 6a? I don't see how 'short' fits in. Some of the others are really clever though.

Rainman: I read 21 "not enough for side" as just one (the final) letter missing.

Very funny about 18! I grew up near Chicago. That's one of the clues (with 6d, 13, 14d and 24) that took longest to parse.

I think of the "nonsense" in 14d as American, but am American; will defer to UK opinions.

Agreed on 6a, the clue is not elegant and two plurals may not be necessary. But the solution is clear, though a new term I had to verify.

Could there be a theme regarding FIFA and pay for female footballers? Clue #s omitted due to spoilage, but a fair number seem applicable and I saw a related story on BBC website. I might be hallucinating, though.

On reflection, I think the nonsense clearly originated in America, but it's been very successfully exported across the Atlantic. I think I first heard the phrase as a child in Bullitt, when it seemed quite shocking. Innocent times. I'm not sure about the football references although you may be right. I think the lionesses will have earned a bit more than a 25a by the end of the weekend.

But still less than their (less successful) male counterparts, I should hastily add.

At first sight this appears to require quite a broad GK to be able to solve. I hadn't heard of 1d and I only have a few clues solved so far. If possible without spoilers can anyone explain the hospital part of 15a?

Rocky, look up the three letters not including the editor. It’s a short version of a longer word not used these days.

First time for Pangakupa in the prize slot I believe and like Geeker, based on previous puzzles, I searched in vain for something hidden in Moari.

That US railway came up somewhere recently so I just about remembered it and Chambers gives the American reference in 14d as “US slang” though I think it’s pretty universal now. The meaning of litter I’ve seen before but totally forget about it.

So I can add 6a and 6d to words I didn't know. Should I know the US railway in 18a because I can't parse my answer at all?

Rocky, it’s the last two letters, it’s in Chambers as a generic type of railway, not a specific one. The rest is six letters people with one letter inserted.