Guardian Chrismas Prize crossword

[owdippi]

This looks like a toughie, should be fun, best wishes to all fellow cruciverbalophiles for a merry xmas and a very happy new year

[mikey4444]

I am snowed in today, so this is the only crossword that I can have a go at, as its available on-line for free...( Mr Murdoch ...are you listening ? )

You are right, its tough. I have been up since 0630 and not managed one clue yet. 13,22 looks as if it might be an anagram of WILE GOD ONLY GOD, but even then I'm not sure. Can't find any Dickens books or a Kipling character yet. The only film quoting Shakespeare I can think of is "My Own Private Idaho" but that seems to be too obscure

Araucaria I salute you ( again )

[keithsolver]

This looks a real xmas challenge. Only one clue so far.

[rustler]

anagram 20 22 o for a grand novel t I suspect

[rustler]

I reckon 20 22 is also an anagram o for a grand novel t

[turast]

Really annoyed. I have completed except for the 6 letter solution of 21 down. I just know it's going to be one of those "I could kick myself" moments. I can see an obvious word for "out of practice" in the last 5 letters, but the other references elude me.

[greencj01]

I think 21d is crusty - 'expressing anger' and develops on 'port'. Could be wrong.

[turast]

greengj01
Thank you. It's the only word I can come up with too, but I can only find references to "crusted" port. I also have a problem with "more or less". Is "c" a symbol which means that? Use of the word "anger" is needed for the solution to the 5 letter word, which would make this an overlapping clue. None of the others appear to be so. I've even started to wonder about "Port Moresby". I refuse to write something in until I'm fully satisfied as to the definition and wordplay, because it's Araucaria, and his clues are so accurate normally.

[mullingar]

I can't get the puzzle to work online. Is anyone else having this problem?

[kayakamina]

I took the C to be circa ( about/more or less)

[rustler]

21d anger which explodes in the kitchen is anagram of anger. thus is expressing a linkword for the two clues

[mikey4444]

Crusty range ? I suppose a kitchen range might explode if its not been cleaned but I am still not sure what the definition is in this clue.

[macgee]

'more or less'... is 'about' or 'c'
'out of practice' rusty Hence... 'c...rusty' for first grid .
'anger' exploded (anagram ) is 'range' for second.
crusty and anger being the key link.
Having completed about 50% I am fnding Auracarias instructions vague and very loose to say the least. Perhaps hes had too much crusted port and made himself angry??

[pcoles]

Port can be "crusted", I guess that's why there's a lame "maybe" in the clue. Another flawed clue from Araucaria c+rusty (c meaning approximately).

I thought the puzzle wasn't too hard but some of the clues are pretty poor, I think.The anagram for the original question is YELLOW DOG DINGO (a novel I've never heard of, but quite obvious if you get the other ones).

One I don't get is the second part of 17 down.

"Weapon lit up in battle ... " is clearly STILETTO (LIT up in SET-TO) but the second part is

"..said to be worse than a storm in a teacup beginning with hate"

I get A-O-I-A-E

so it looks like ABOMINATE, with the definition "hate", and IN+A+TE for "in a teacup beginning" but I don't get the res ot f the wordplay. Is a bomb said to be worse than a storm?

[pcoles]

ps. I think the solutions to clues like 21 (CRUSTY/RANGE) are not meant to be thematically linked; just those where the solution lenghts are not separated by semicolons in parentheses.

[macgee]

' Yellow dog dingo' was a charachter in kiplings 'Just so stories'

[pcoles]

Yes, sorry. It's the kipling character referred to in the preamble, not a novel. Sorry.

[jubilee5684]

Surely the reason why it is ABOMINATE is that in addition to the a,in, ate, the reference to BOM is preceded by 'said to be', or 'sounds like'

[pcoles]

so why does BOM sound like "worse than a storm"?

[foxspur]

Re rustler's suggestion for 20 22, it's 15 letters in total so only needs "o for a grand novel" not the final "t"??

[pcoles]

For 20 22 you need to swap O for the A in "grand novel title" and then anagram what you've got....

the answer is a book that won the Booker Prize.