Yes, it’s us again blogging as Ken is in hospital – hope that things are steadily improving Ken and that you are able to ‘hop about’ OK.
The Preamble:
Christmas is over. It’s very quiet in the snowbound Cathedral Close. Too quiet: a murder has been committed. And one of the staff must be the culprit.
Solvers must locate (i) six suspects, clockwise in the perimeter housing (clued by wordplay only); and (ii), by changing one letter in the initially filled grid, the victim, whose identity is confirmed by three connected names spelled by single extra letters generated by the wordplay of each down clue. Six across clues each contain an extra word, which is a potential weapon in disguise. Five are red herrings; the broken pieces of the one actually used form a straight-line trail from the body to the murderer’s house. Victim, (broken) weapon and murderer must be highlighted. The letter change leaves real words. One answer is an initialism.
As we had only just returned from two weeks away, things were pretty busy and we were hoping for an easier ride than last week which was very devious. Thankfully things fell into place reasonably quickly but no less enjoyably.
As usual, we had no idea what was going on so we just started trying to solve the clues regardless. 9ac was a give-away but that didn’t help with any of the connecting down clues unfortunately.
The first one which revealed a potential weapon was 12ac as it was fairly obvious that ‘ragged was an anagram of ‘dagger’ and the definition was clear too. The rest of the weapons were not too difficult to guess either.
So, we steadily chipped away at the clues.
The extra letters in the down clues were not that helpful for trying to guess any missing ones unfortunately.
Once we had solved a couple of the suspects, we realised that they were all linked to roles within the cathedral.
The completed grid looked like this:
Once we had completed the grid, we started looking for the victim.
The three words revealed by the extra letters in the down clues were NELLIE, ACHESON and ARABIN. Given the list of suspects, we thought of Nellie Dean but could not remember anything else apart from the name. DEAN featured in a fairly central location in the grid too if you changed the W to a D. A bit of googling revealed:
Nellie Dean – The main narrator in Wuthering Heights
Dean Acherson – US Cold War diplomat
Dean Arabin – a significant character in the Barchester Chronicles
Once the letter had been changed we had the victim (DEAN) being killed by a broken weapon (SPEAR) leading to the murder’s house in the Cathedral Close (VERGER)
Thanks Vagans – we enjoyed this!
Suspects (alphabetical order of solutions)
• Needing no introduction, our succentor’s first inside bistro? (6)
BURSAR – oUR (missing first letter or ‘needing no introduction’ S (first letter of succentor) inside BAR (bistro?)
• Reel back after fate (10)
CHANCELLOR – A reversal (‘back’) of ROLL (reel) after CHANCE (fate)
• Men following short prayers and section of Bible (9)
PRECENTOR – OR (other ranks – ‘men’) following PRECEs (prayers) missing last letter or ‘short’ NT (New Testament – ‘section of Bible’)
• Sectarians losing base getting dispersed (9)
SACRISTAN – An anagram (getting dispersed’) of SeCTARIANS without ‘e’ (base)
• Retired vicar taking work on board (6)
VERGER – A reversal (‘retired’) of REV (vicar) reversed around or ‘taking on board’ ERG (work)
• Surrender in vain when disturbed (8)
VICEDEAN – CEDE (surrender) inside an anagram (‘disturbed’) of VAIN
| ACROSS | ||||
| No. | Entry | Potential weapon | Extra letter | |
| 9 | INVADE |
Enter DI: nave disturbed (6)
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| An anagram (‘disturbed’) of DI NAVE | ||||
| 11 | OOMIAC |
Craft using Shetland wool waterproof going round isle (6)
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| OO (another word for wool in Scotland) MAC (waterproof) around I (isle) | ||||
| 12 | ENTERING | DAGGER |
Coming in [ragged], repenting in distress – but no priest (8)
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| An anagram (‘in distress’) of RE |
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| 13 | BOYAR | SABRE |
Old aristo [bears] child god from the east (5)
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| BOY (child) and a reversal (‘from the east’) of RA (god) | ||||
| 14 | DERN | GRENADE |
Revealed from under nave, secret [enraged] local (4)
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| Hidden (‘revealed from’) in unDER Nave – dern is an old, dialect word for secret | ||||
| 15 | YOWLED |
At last wry wiseacre newspaper boss gave mournful cry (6)
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| Y (last letter of wry) OWL (wiseacre) ED (newspaper boss) | ||||
| 17 | ERBIA |
Metal compound that becomes carbide when mixed with cadmium (5)
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| An anagram (‘mixed’) of ERBIA and cd (cadmium) gives ‘carbide’ | ||||
| 18 | FILES | RAPIER |
Shrewd old men [repair] tools (5)
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| Double definition – we had to check this | ||||
| 19 | CARR |
Soggy brake, possibly: “brake!” you hear (4)
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| A homophone (‘you hear’) of CAR – a brake is another word for an estate car. We had to check the definition – a brake is another word for thicket and CARR is an old word for boggy ground. | ||||
| 20 | SEAGODS |
Revered ocean rulers reportedly consult saint, holding scoundrel on return (7, 2 words)
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| A homophone (‘reportedly’) of SEE (consult) and S (saint ) around or ‘holding’ a reversal (‘on return’) of DOG (scoundrel) | ||||
| 22 | IRIS |
IT assistant sent back to make place for pupil (4)
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| A reversal (‘sent back’) of SIRI (IT assistant) | ||||
| 23 | TENNO |
Emperor incarcerated by rotten nobility (5)
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| Hidden (‘incarcerated’) in rotTEN NObility | ||||
| 24 | PITA |
Bread? Dad’s eaten it (4)
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| PA (dad) around or ‘eating’ IT | ||||
| 25 | OURIEST | LANCE |
Angus’s shabbiest rise up in [clean] out … (7)
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| An anagram (‘up’) of RISE in OUT | ||||
| 28 | AIRN |
… club from there found in machair nearby (4)
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| Hidden (‘found in’) machAIR Nearby – a Scots word for ‘iron’ | ||||
| 29 | RSPCA |
Animal charity starts to reduce some political campaign activity (5)
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| First letters or ‘starts’ to Reduce Some Political Campaign Activity | ||||
| 31 | AMP UP |
Exaggerate but without Catholic increase in intensity (5, 2 words)
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| 32 | AVOSET |
Pärt for instance avoiding river valued for sort of wading bird (6)
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| A |
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| 33 | PARR | SPEAR |
[Spare] last wife of six standard reports (4)
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| A homophone (‘report’) of PAR (standard) – Catherine Parr was the sixth and last wife of Henry VIII | ||||
| 34 | SUNNA |
Saint confused nun about Mohammed’s way of life (5)
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| S (saint) + an anagram (‘confused’) of NUN + A (about) | ||||
| 35 | BATTERIE |
Pitcher and catcher losing finale that is theatrical jump (8)
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| BATTER |
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| 37 | RAETIA |
Artist hosts Institute tea, returning in Alpine province (6)
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| RA (artist) around or ‘hosting’ a reversal (returning’) of I (institute) TEA | ||||
| 38 | PHARMA |
Drug injury admitted by secretary (6)
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| HARM (injury) inside or ‘admitted’ by PA (secretary) | ||||
| DOWN | ||||
| No. | Entry | Potential weapon | Extra letter | |
| 1 | CINERARY | N |
Broken cairn Henry missing husband used for ashes of the dead (8)
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| An anagram (‘broken’) of CAIR[n] and |
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| 2 | AVENIRS | E |
Many a future in France while holding old US writ (7)
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| AS (while) around or ‘holding’ VENIR[e] (Old US writ) | ||||
| 3 | NARY A | L |
No Scots with old coin, not one (5, 2 words)
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| NA (Scots form of no) RYA[l] (old coin) | ||||
| 4 | EEN | L |
Cancelling special organ evening in countryside (3)
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| 5 | LOGLOG | I |
Repeated operation laid out large igloo (6)
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| An anagram (‘laid out’) of LG (large) and [i]GLOO | ||||
| 6 | LOBEFOOT | E |
Left ordinary meeting to sum up one who wades in (8)
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| L (left) O (ordinary) BE[e] (meeting as in spelling bee) FOOT (to sum up) – a lobe-foot is a phalarope or wading bird | ||||
| 7 | RIYALS | A |
Arab ready to kill publicity that’s on the rise (6)
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| A reversal (‘on the rise’) of SLAY (to kill) [a]IR (publicity) | ||||
| 8 | SAAME | C |
Salvation Army has arrived for Northern Finns (5)
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| SA (Salvation Army) [c]AME (has arrived) | ||||
| 10 | DIODE | H |
Scuttle seen in exit in Tube (5)
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| [h]OD (scuttle) inside DIE (exit) | ||||
| 16 | WEANERS | E |
Young animals in shows surrounding niece, oddly (7)
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| WEARS (shows) ‘surrounding’ NiEc[e] (odd letters only) | ||||
| 20 | STRAVAIG | S |
Scots wander gratis drunkenly around tube (8)
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| An anagram (‘drunkenly’) of GRATIS around VA[s] (tube) | ||||
| 21 | ETRURIAN | O |
A Turin ore processed for Wedgwood style of pottery (8)
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| An anagram (‘processed’) of A TURIN [o]RE | ||||
| 24 | PAMPERO | N |
Stormy wind from plain as former president detains a politician (7)
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| PERO[n] (former president – of Argentina) around A MP (politician) | ||||
| 25 | OPENER | A |
North-East featured in musical drama: first in series (6)
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| NE (North East) inside or ‘featured in’ OPER[a] (musical drama) | ||||
| 26 | ISOBAR | R |
Disturbed air round tree is an indicator of pressure (6)
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| An anagram (‘disturbed’) of AIR around SO[r]B (tree) | ||||
| 27 | SIETH | A |
Is widest path cut unevenly? It’s Bill’s scythe (5)
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| Odd letters (‘unevenly’) in iS wIdEsT p[a]tH – a Shakespearean word for scythe | ||||
| 30 | SQUAB | B |
Clumsy dispute putting the French off (5)
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| SQUAB[b] |
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| 31 | ATTAR | I |
Small island sailor produces essential oil (5)
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| A[i]T (small island) TAR (sailor) | ||||
| 36 | APE | N |
Imitate advanced literary style (3)
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| A (advanced) PE[n] (literary style) |
Nothing to add really, but thanks very much to Vagans for an enjoyably cosy Christmas murder mystery and Bertandjoyce for the meticulous post-mortem. Of the Down hints, Dean Acheson leapt out at me first. After starting with a vague expectation that the hidden weapons might come from Cluedo, I was intrigued by the choice of five blades plus a GRENADE. As they say, one of these things is not like the others….
Happy New Year!
As David Langford says, a grenade in the cathedral close feels a bit out of place alongside the other weapons. I duly identified the victim, murderer and spear, but failed to find “lance”, being convinced that the unparsed AVOSET clue must contain the missing weapon and thereby enable me to make sense of it. Looking again at 32A in a good light I can see the key umlaut on Part, but my eye just ran across it originally; it’s a stimulus to listen to a previously unfamiliar composer. I think the NELLIE reference is to the music hall song NELLIE DEAN, rather than the Wuthering Heights narrator, who is spelled NELLY. Thanks to setter and bloggers.
If this puzzle has brought one solver to Arvo Part, then it has done a service! (a good entry point is the album Tabula Rasa – https://www.discogs.com/master/68271-Arvo-Pärt-Tabula-Rasa). I failed to find Dean, despite the helpful Acheson (Torvill would have been even more helpful), partly because I was assuming the victim would be horizontal. Thanks for a gentle mystery to Vagans and Bertandjoyce.
Well, I got all that but thought I had missed something as the broken spear seemed to lead to the culprit, not his house. I spent far to long looking for my non-existent error and eventually gave up. So not another DFN after all! I do not think the preamble was clear enough – the inference of “perimeter housing” did not click.
Apart from that, a very enjoyable puzzle.
Thanks to Vagans* and to B&J for stepping into the breach. Best wishes to Ken.
*A new-comer, I believe. Reminds me of the Vogons in Douglas Adams’ masterpiece.
Well I got the grid mostly filled quite quickly, but then hit a bit of a brick wall.
I had been expecting the murder-mystery to be one that pre-existed rather than one specific to this puzzle, so on realising the suspects were all just church-type roles, I was unsure who the victim would be.
The extra letters that should have been helpful, weren’t! Despite having most of them, they didn’t make anything recognisable to me (though I did have one wrong so that didn’t help!) as I hadn’t heard of Deans Acheson or Arabin.
Mum to the rescue this time though, confirming it was Dean to be found and filling in the few clues I hadn’t done.
Thanks B&J again for the blog (hope you recover quickly Ken) and to Vagans for the puzzle.
Very clever construction but I failed right at the endgame as I changed the wrong entry to make my DEAN (I changed the R to an A in 14a) and so didn’t locate the broken weapon. Had I thought to look for another way of making the DEAN I may well have got this 100% finished. Personally I think it’s shame there was a ‘wrong’ DEAN available as I prefer it when the solutions has an inevitability (albeit usually retrospectively confirmed) rather than an ambiguity!
But thanks to Vagans for the workout and to Bertandjoyce for the elucidation!
Rob T: I sympathise with you over where to find the Dean, having also flirted with 14A. But I think the puzzle itself isn’t really ambiguous, because it states that the letter change leaves real words, and the change in 14A would change an unchecked R, making the instruction redundant.
I also sympathise with Rob T @6. The elements of a spear can be assembled from letters on the main diagonal, leading to the Precentor as the murderer, and the preamble doesn’t say that only pieces of the murder weapon can lie on the trail… I looked no further.
Dave W @4: Vagans is not a newcomer, having had IQ’s published in 2021 and 2022 according to the Inquisitor Index.
Thanks to Bloggers and Setter.
Sagittarius @7 – of course, that makes perfect sense in hindsight. Every word of a preamble needs to earn its keep, and as you say changing an unchecked cell, while also technically also maintaining real words, would not require the mention of that particular fact!
John Lowe @8 – yes, I also got as far as finding a broken SPEAR along the diagonal, so that’s either further misdirection or an unfortunate coincidence…
I solved almost all the grid and found the cathedral staff, but in 16 Dn I took the R out of “wears” rather than the second E out of “niece” (assuming that “weanees” would be the little suckers). This put me so far off track that the Dean’s murderer got away with it. I also missed Lance (convinced that there must be an extra word in 35 Ac) and couldn’t work out Carr at 19 Ac. So only 6/10 this week, although I enjoyed the challenge. Thanks to Vagans for this, and to B&J for demystifying the endgame. Happy 2026, all.