June 2024 Prize Puzzle - Sage Derby by Vagans

 Sage Derby by Vagans

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Two down answers are thematic characters, big cheeses in their day, and are clued with wordplay only. Solvers must highlight these two characters and the first part of a (rather cheesy) cryptic representation of a thematically-linked saying that could also refer to them in a rather cheesy way (12 characters in a straight line, leaving symmetrical highlighting), and enter five further characters beneath the grid to complete it. Single extra letters generated by the wordplay in each across clue indicate a quotation that could be applied to them, from a UK perspective, and five other cheeses (but not a red herring) must be removed from across clues before solving. Five further characters of a different sort must also be removed from the down clues before solving; these complete a set. All entries, including this set of characters, are to be found in The Chambers Dictionary (2016), which is recommended.

Across

1 Ed's flung blue toys around with weight briefly (5)

5 Swiss Lass in sun hat sent back turpentine (7)

10 Desert boys prepared home for shellfish (9)

11 Rumour about Beirut (5)

12 US university region missing energy of bishop's office (6)

14 Rule has sex appeal with early English set on fire again (8)

15 Inn lynch mob hides Comte entirely (4)

16 Very loud Killarney tune: pretty good (4)

17 Irish wander about with garden weighing machine (9)

20 Unprotected Gouda under prepared (9)

23 Mother nevertheless returned instrument (4)

24 Sikh's uncut hair overturned wine hour (4)

26 Cream playing the bluest short playful pieces (8)

28 Sewage cycling round before tankers (6)

29 Resident in old people's home installed in vehicle (5)

30 French moderate animosity about old milk in Paris (9)

31 German city (dry) sent back fine Tokay (7)

32 Scots grass, jerk on run (5)

Down

1 Youth taken aback by mistake is behaving like a lout (7)

2 One of unclued lights is war god without name (5)

3 Disturb saint slowing down in retirement (4)

4 Old city hill conceals trial explosive compound (6)

5 Pitta custom: Kerridge's Glutton perhaps mixing dry egg and suet (10, two words)

6 Old ambassador once swindler in India? Quite the opposite. (6)

7 Source of spicy seeds no longer Colombia but Peru (9)

8 Send out atomic number retrospectively once (7, three words)

9 Alert about bias in old German tender (5)

12 Show of affection from Auden promoting North in Russian commune, that is (10)

13 Lob us clue when drunk (9)

18 Metallic oxides to this extent keep trouble on retreat (7)

19 Notice that woman with expression of hesitation for follower (7)

21 Solo Nash encountered beside lakes regularly near to limitless trona (6)

22 Sailor undergoes examination and leaves to stay away from college (6)

23 Litchi lone meal (hardly!) putting bishop in temper (5)

25 Precipitous cliff to cause fright in Grampians (5)

27 Current money backing Forth ales enjoying success (4, two words)

To enter this competition, send your entry as an image or in list format to ccpuzzles@talktalk.net before 8th July 2024. The first correct entry drawn from the hat will receive a book from the Chambers range, which has been donated by Chambers