There may have been an involuntary “oh crikey” emitted when I opened the paper to discover I’d drawn a Bannsider to blog. In the event this wasn’t as hard as it might have been, but was every bit as enjoyable as one has come to expect from this very well-regarded setter.

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A harder than usual prize puzzle this week, I thought.  A theme exploiting two meanings of an old chestnut which often crops up in cryptic crosswords.  Thanks to Paul for a satisfying challenge.  And thanks also to PeeDee for helping me with access to his excellent blogging software program.  I’ve underlined the definitions in the clues.

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