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As ever, the appearance of Enigmatist heralds a fear of a long night, but also the anticipation of a satisfying work-out. This was a challenge, but an enjoyable one, for me at least.
FOI 15 (though 20 was the more obvious way in).
LOI and possible COD: the clever 24. Other candidates for COD include the rather Pauline 14, and the rather poetic 6.

Thanks to JH. I felt sick upon seeing "Enigmatist" and nearly skipped the puzzle, but it turned out fairly gentle by his standards. Had to calm down, resist intimidation and proceed logically...I was fortunate to get some of the long solutions quickly, which helped a great deal.

Still stuck on 2, which will be LOI.

FOI 20.

COD contenders 6, 12, 23 and 24.

Hi Rog,

You're not kidding mate - It comes to something when the Prize is more difficult than the Listener!

I found this pretty tough, obviously, but Enigmatist does at least give us a few anagrams to allow to gain a foothold.

All that being said, Enigmatist has crafted some truly beautiful clues in this puzzle, so I implore you, should you, like me, run into difficulty, please persevere - the pay-off is well worth it.

2d - While I amm certain of my answer (that's it Bren, stay humble 😎), and can see a 3 letter "at daybreak?", there is a 2 letter insertion which I just can't equate with anything else from the clue - plus there's no containment indicator so, you know.... there's that, as well

22d - not sure "guy's wrapped" is enough of an instruction to cover the work that needs to be done - but maybe I've misunderstood it.

Also, there's a clue that requires the solver to know an obscure Aussie slang term which, I think, is new territory for the Guardian Prize and makes me wonder if Enigmatist is bringing over his clue writing devices from the barred puzzles he is famous for (not that that is a bad thing).

COD - So many contenders but I'll go with 24a and 23a as a close runner-up.

Thanks to Enigmatist for a thoroughly challenging, rewarding and enjoyable Prize.

Stay safe:-)

2d - unless "warming" is the containment indicator and not part of the definition?

.... but I still don't think what's contained equates to "is it" - and neither does Google. Hmmm.... this one has me stumped.

geeker
I have what I think is the only possible answer to 2, which is defined by the first two words of the clue. But I’m struggling to parse it satisfactorily. I think it must be an insertion of 2 in 3, the 3 being a reversal cryptically defined by ‘daybreak’. But I’m not sure how the 2 (an abbreviation) works. And it may therefore be that I am barking up the wrong tree.

Brendan, I didn't know the Aussie slang, but the outer word of the pair was readily apparent from wordplay, and definition is clear, so I'm confident enough in the solution to not bother looking up the slang term.

I see your point on 22. Wrote in the solution as 2nd one in, but never bothered to parse.

rog, my logic on 2 is exactly the same as yours and I believe we have the same answer.

Hi Geeker,

I sympatthise with 2d. There are only 4 words that fit the letter pattern and 2 of them a re "drinks"! I mean, you know which one it has to be but still...

Hi Bren.
We have clearly gone through exactly the same thought processes re 2, which is a comfort to me at least (it might not be to you!)
I also share your difficulty with 22: is ‘wrapped’ doing double duty as a containment indicator and an anagrind/cycling indicator? It’s the best I can come up with for now at least.