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geeker

8th March 2025, 01:25
Thanks to Brockwell, relative Prize newcomer but always a welcome guest in the slot.

I found this about average in difficulty, but took a long time to complete the grid because I drew a blank on the relatively easy 14, which wound up LOI by a long shot after setting the puzzle aside for a while.
FOI 8, which still ranks as COD.
Also liked 16, 5, 2, 24, 11, 3 and 19. 10 is very clever, so much so that I still can't parse it.

Wide range of clues: some low-hanging fruit but quite a few challenges. Google needed to confirm a couple of solutions.

I see a couple of mini-themes, but am too tired to notice the witty overall theme/feature that one expects from Brockwell.
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geeker

8th March 2025, 01:27
Of course the penny just dropped on 10. Close to COD level.
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mogwai

8th March 2025, 01:36
Some obscure GK, with one clue in particular being pretty baffling for non-UK solvers. Enough clear wordplay to assist, though, in what was par difficulty for a Prize puzzle. Agree with Geeker that 10 is the COD.
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darla

8th March 2025, 02:01
Definitely challenging, but enjoyably so for the most part. 10 was very well disguised, so it took me a surprisingly long time considering that is my current location. I got a smile when I solved it though. Isn't 18 a bit unfair though? Very obscure. 7,12 was also unknown to me, but perhaps is more familiar in the UK, so I'm not going to gripe there.

I'm not sure what the theme is. There is a lot of pop culture in general, several of those clues being about music, although the culture needed for 21a is not pop. For that matter, I thought this was COD. Love the misdirection.

But there is also the theme related to 16a. I see at least five in the grid besides the ones specifically referenced in their clues.

Curious to see the thoughts of other solvers.
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geeker

8th March 2025, 02:08
darla, I definitely see a theme related to 16. Also a musical theme (for instance, 8 is thematic in both senses), which I initially got through "band". But, recalling some of Brockwell's prior Prizes (e.g. Bob Marley), I think there's a unified theme I haven't figured out.
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samuipete

8th March 2025, 06:05
Morning all, enjoying this so far (I think), about half way through. But I'm completely stuck on 18.
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samuipete

8th March 2025, 06:22
Like 9 and 21d a lot
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samuipete

8th March 2025, 06:46
Just seen 18a. Bit obscure??
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jono

8th March 2025, 07:00
Good fun I thought, thanks to Brockwell.

I thought the theme was 16a with some synonyms and some words that combine with it, throughout the grid. I’ll be intrigued to find out if there is anything deeper.

18 was well known to me. Though if you don’t know them you will need employ some searching as the wordplay doesn’t return a precise ordering of letters.

Perhaps Dan will pop in later as he’s done before.
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samuipete

8th March 2025, 07:07
Hi Jono, I nearly said that I am sure no one has heard of 18a, luckily I didn't
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