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Hi roof
23a the even letters of tango symbolise...?
26 is one of the more straightforward ones - L in a 4 letter word for "equalises score" - i.e. brings it back to equal.
6d is ridiculous. You need to Google the people mentioned, then use their first initials.
I agree that 5d and 15d are loose - typical Boatman. He gives crossword setting masterclasses, apparently; perhaps he should attend one!

I'm not looking forward to a holiday special; they seem too much like hard work!

Merry Christmas

In case Boatman decides to read this thread, IMHO, I think a lot of the criticism is not at all justified. I have absolutely no problem with either the 5d or 15d anagrams. I think it's quite common to add extra letters to an anagram after the initial anagrind. In 15d, I assumed that 'come', 'p', and 'telly' are all 'dancing'. Living outside the UK, I had to Google 6d, after guessing the answer, but that's not uncommon. I'm always having to Google obscure fish or insecticides. I agree that there is a case for a double substitution indicator in 7d and I think the 'steps' should have been singular in 24d. However, I think 23d is brilliant, and many of the others have witty allusions to the theme, e.g., 26a, and clever misdirections in the use of Boatman (16d and 17a). I thought it was a great puzzle.

I solved this, all except for parsing 23d (the solution and definition were obvious) and then came here. I was very surprised at some of what I read. A large number of people evidently found it much more difficult than I did, which is unusual. A few of the criticisms of the clues I agree with, but most I find perfectly acceptable. For example, I not only saw no problem with 22a, but actually marked it as a good clue. I was astonished to learn that most people have never come across 3d: the full expression was still in occasional use when I was a child, if not later, though the (now universal) abbreviation to just the first word was by then usual. FOI 24a, which I found really easy. LOI and, despite its difficulty, COD, 23d. Boatman, if you read this, then despite the critical remarks from some others, take consolation from the fact that here's at least one solver who thought it a giod puzzle.

Why don't I always proof tead my messages? In my last post, giod = good, of course.

Oh dear. How embarrassing . Did I really post "Why don't I always proof tead"?

I think one of the best things about the Guardian Prize blog on here is that we are a broad church and all views and opinions are accommodated.

It's always been a friendly and welcoming space where people can freely express their opinions about the clues and ask for a helping hand when needed.

As I often say, we're a friendly bunch and always happy when new solvers join our happy band of Guardian Prize enthusiasts:-)

Criticism of setters can go both ways. I've seen some interesting exchanges in the comments section of 225, where commenters are prone to be somewhat critical (IMO). Specifically, Tees (Independent) getting rather salty (to put it mildly 😏) with critics. I even read a 225 entry which led off with the blogger recalling such incidents and stating that he preferred not to blog that setter's compositions.

This forum is more collegial than 225 in my experience. 👍

Hi all. Just finished with LOI 5D, surprisingly.
I agree that some comments seem a little harsh. There was some clever clueing, such as 23d (when the penny dropped).

Still don’t understand how 19a parses, despite the forum posts.

I enjoyed 18D & the clever 13A.

Thanks, everyone, and see you tomorrow no doubt.

With 19a, you need to cycle the letters to see something that could mean 'tot' as a verb.

Ah, thanks, Rainman