A cracker of a puzzle from Vlad to lead us into the new year.
It looked quite daunting at first but it proved a most absorbing and satisfying challenge. I had been a little disconcerted by the news of Alan Connor’s warning of unconventional grids this week but, in fact, the long entries at 1ac and 8dn were particularly kind in giving us lots of initial letters. The only new words for me were 16ac SKIDDOO and 7dn NOTUM, both clearly clued and gettable.
Lots of wit, ingenuity and misdirection throughout, as we expect from Vlad. There really are too many favourite clues to list but I particularly enjoyed 1ac COME TO NOTHING – a great start – 10ac CHINATOWN, 14ac AMASSED, 21ac NOSEBANDS, 25ac TRENDIEST, for the definition, the porcine number 4 on the farm and Mr Bean going doolally in the car.
Many thanks to Vlad for a lot of fun.
Very best wishes to all for 2026.
Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1 Be frustrated: ‘Wake up, love!’ (4,2,7)
COME TO NOTHING
COME TO (wake up) + NOTHING (love – tennis score)
10 A Tory leader gets personal after feature film involving political corruption (9)
CHINATOWN
CHIN (feature) + A from the clue + T[ory] + OWN (personal) – neat ‘lift and separate’ of ‘feature film’
11/26 Foolish eccentric humans – it’s how things are (2,3,13)
IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES
An anagram (foolish) of ECCENTRIC HUMANS ITS
12 Not suspecting local temperature’s dropped (5)
NAÏVE
NA[t]IVE (local) minus t (temperature)
13 Bound to collapse, several inside revealed
UNBOSOMED
SOME (several) inside an anagram (to collapse) of BOUND
14 Collected setter’s mea culpa to boss? (7)
AMASSED
A setter might say to his editor, if he was to blame (mea culpa) (I) AM (an) ASS, ED
16 Brats cycling to party gathering round – go away! (7)
SKIDDOO
KIDS (brats) ‘cycling’ + DO (party) + O (round)
18 Women in a frenzy talked of Vlad’s ‘cojones’ (7)
MAENADS
Sounds like (talked of) ME (Vlad) + NADS (cojones)
Knowledge of mythology rather than the two slang words for testicles got me this one, from the definition
20 Quick turnover of work force – bar short (2-5)
UP-TEMPO
A reversal (turnover) of OP (work) + MET (Metropolitan Police Force) + PU[b] (bar short)
21 Timeless bonnets as originally described worn at Ascot? They will be (9)
NOSEBANDS
An anagram (originally) of BONNE[t]S, minus t (time) + AS + D[escribed]
Just as I was posting the blog, I had second thoughts about the anagram indicator (which I had as ‘worn’ originally) and was about to revert to that when Jay posted @3 – not sure about what to underline as the definition now, ‘worn’ doing double duty? – apologies for the confusion
23 Not kosher – I eat hot food unlikely to be this (5)
SUSHI
SUS[picious] (not kosher) + I round H (hot)
24 Spain game not international match (5)
EQUAL
E (Spain) + QUA[i]L (a game bird) minus i (international)
25 In superlative form, finally attracted interest (9)
TRENDIEST
An anagram (form) of [attracte]D + INTEREST
Down
2 One soldier (highly decorated) about to spring up (9)
ORIGINATE
ORNATE (highly decorated) round I GI (one soldier)
3 Duck seen around English Channel (5)
EVADE
A reversal (around) of E (English) + DAVE (TV Channel)
4 Imposing tax on Tudor (7)
OROTUND
An anagram (tax) of ON TUDOR
5 Old Sky feature raising money for public transport (7)
OMNIBUS
O (old) + NIMBUS (sky feature) with the M raised, in a down clue
6 Punishment advice from Spooner: ‘Don’t suffer alone!’ (4,5)
HAIR SHIRT
Share hurt – advice from Spooner
7 Mount different part of insect (5)
NOTUM
An anagram (different) of MOUNT – the dorsal surface of the thorax in insects
8 Observe lawyer taking more time to squash start of malicious gossip (13)
SCANDALMONGER
SCAN (observe) DA (District Attorney – lawyer) + LONGER (more time) round M[alicious]
9 Old grids and notes recycled for students of Araucaria? (13)
DENDROLOGISTS
An anagram (recycled) of OLD GRIDS and NOTES – Araucaria being the monkey puzzle tree, as well as the pseudonym of a still much-missed crossword setter
15 Confused doctor has another look up ‘sick at heart’ (9)
SHAMBOLIC
An anagram (doctor) of HAS + MB (another doctor) + a reversal (up, in a down clue) of LO (look) + [s]IC[k] – a favourite word of mine
17 Part of play when Romeo goes – revelatory material (9)
DAMASCENE
D[r]AMA SCENE (part of play) minus r (Romeo)
Referring to the fabric, also known as damask, originating from Damascus
19 Problem: politicians – not ours, Trump principally – invading safe space (7)
SANCTUM
ANC (African National Congress – politicians, not ours) + T[rump] in SUM (problem)
20 Not used succeeded breaking free (7)
UNSPENT
S (succeeded, in genealogy) in UNPENT (free)
22 Countryman picked up female number 4 on farm? (5)
SAUDI
Sounds like (picked up) ‘sow D’ (whimsically, female number 4 on farm)
23 On screen Mr Bean gets a little doolally in car (5)
SEDAN
SEAN (on screen, Mr Bean) round D[oolally) – doolally is another favourite of mine, which I don’t seem to have heard for a long time; I found that it’s military slang
Isn’t the MAE in MAENADS pronounced MY (“Vlad’s”)?
Justigator @ 1 – I nearly commented that that’s the way I, as a classicist, would pronounce it but listen here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOI6B3jd030
and elsewhere: the parsing works either way.
NOSEBANDS – I had ‘originally’ as the single letter indicator for D and ‘worn’ as the anagrind.
Jay @3 – so did I, originally and changed it at the very point of posting the blog. I was having third thoughts just as you posted and was about to amend it – I will do so now!
I completed the RHS with relatively little difficulty, but the left was all check button and Complete the Word.
Thanks for SAUDI, SEDAN and EVADE explanations, Eileen. Thanks Vlad, too
Thanks Eileen @4, I think the definition is “at Ascot they will be” with a reference back to “worn”. So I suppose we can call this ‘double duty’ unless there is a better term.
I thought Damascene related more toward the revelatory end. I see it defined as : important moment of insight, typically one that leads to a dramatic transformation of attitude or belief. I found the puzzle to be a wonderful test. Thanks to Eileen for the parsing of SAUDI, which I missed, and much thanks to Vlad for a great start to the year. Happy New Year to all—we have just passed midnight in California.
Justigator@1
MAENADS
Looks like Vlad is just soundalike of ME —>MAE
NOSEBANDS
Found this online:
While bonnets (ear bonnets/fly veils) protect ears from bugs and sounds, and nosebands (cavessons, flashes, grackles) control the bit and jaw, they aren’t similar in function, though some specialized “war bonnets” act like tie-downs to keep a horse’s head down in Western disciplines, replacing some noseband functions.
Was the clue meant to be a CAD? At some stretch…???
Thanks Vlad and Eileen.
Jay @7 – I too (again!) pondered Saul’s vision on the road to Damascus – too many second (and third) thoughts today: I think I should perhaps go back to bed and start again 🙁
Thanks Vlad and Eileen
Lots to like. SCANDALMONGER is an example of my favourite type of clue – solution built up from its parts. I also particularly liked DAMASCENE and SAUDI.
You have missed “puzzle” from the blog for 9d, Eileen.
Thanks for the blog, Eileen.
I just googled damscene cloth and it seems that it is “generally opaque or has a low level of transparency. Its characteristic appearance comes from the contrast between shiny (satin weave) and opaque (sateen, twill, or plain weave) sections that reflect light differently, rather than light passing through the fabric itself.”
So you and Jay are both right in connecting it to damascene used in reference to an important moment of insight à la Saul on the road to Damascus.
Thanks muffin @10 – fixed now.
Dave, the TV channel, might not be known abroad. I think it was named after Dave Lister, the “hero” in Red Dwarf.
A real tour de force from Vlad. Almost as many ticks as clues. Trendiest, scandal monger etc lots of cotd if that were possible
Thanks Vlad and Eileen.
Happy New Year to all
Great fun from start to finish. I was very lucky that the splendid COME TO NOTHING was FOI and opened up quite lot of avenues. Everything parsed bar the overlooked anagrind for TRENDIEST which went in with a slight shrug. Oh, and I think this is one occasion where my lack of a classical education came to my aid in that I thought MAENADS to be pronounced ‘my nads’ which fitted perfectly. What anagrams for both IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES and DENDROLOGISTS (which was COTD for me).
Thanks Vlad and Eileen and Happy New Year to all
Michelle @11 That is an interesting description of damascene fabric and put me in mind of this short poem by Robert Herrick, who knew that fabric does not have to be transparent to be ‘revelatory’:
Whenas in silks my Julia goes,
Then, then (methinks) how sweetly flows
That liquefaction of her clothes.
Next, when I cast mine eyes, and see
That brave vibration each way free,
O how that glittering taketh me!
I thought that “confused” was doing double duty as definition and anagrind … also that “revelatory” offered a double definition (material and revealing as on the road to Damascus)
Bags of New Year fun. Loved the outrageous 4th female piglet.
COME TO NOTHING was my foi, too, and made steady progress from there.
Thanks to Eileen for the Dave explanation, wouldn’t have got there in a month of Sundays.
HNY everyone.
I think the anagram indicator in SHAMBOLIC must be “another” and refer just to “has”. Great puzzle, a bit too hard for my hungover brain.
Thanks for the blog , great puzzle to start the year .
NOSEBANDS – I think just a pause is needed after worn .
at Ascot? They will be – gives “they” as the definition . A sort of self-referential clue .
SHAMBOLIC – doctor has = SHA another=MB etc .
This is shown in the blog .
Thanks, Roz @21 – that’s what I intended: I should have inserted ‘another’ in the brackets after MB – I’ll do it now.
And I take your point @20.
Thanks Roz. I get it now. And a belated welcome back.
Thank you Peter , very kind.
Eileen I thought the blog was fine for SHAMBOLIC , I only repeated bits because people were still asking .
This was a punchy start to the New Year from Vlad. I did parse it all when I’d worked my way through it, but doing it online the check button is all too tempting, especially when I’d got into a different tussle blogging in the wee small hours.
Dasmask fabric is the white textured stuff that makes tablecloths in very smart hotels and restaurants, the ones that still dress tables with white tablecloths. The different textures give the leafy shapes or designs within the fabric – sort of sheen and dull effects. It does come in other colours – think red smoking jackets or dark green damask curtains.
Thank you for the blog Eileen and to Vlad for the tussle.
Happy New Year to everyone.
Many were BIFD before parsing, and I failed to parse EVADE and SANCTUM. I liked CHINATOWN, UP-TEMPO, TRENDIEST, OMNIBUS, the nice HAIR SHIRT Spoonerism, and DENDROLOGISTS.
Thanks Vlad and Eileen. HNY to everyone and good to see Roz back in the fold.
Gosh, tough with a new year hangover. NOTUM was the easiest clue but I guess you had to have spent a lot 9f time identifying dragonflies.
On a personal note, I completed the Grauniad cryptic every day of 2025, prizers included.
Many thanks to the setters and bloggers. Happy new year.
SKIDDOO with 2 Ds is not in Chambers.
copland @28
I had come across this expression somewhere – probably a crossword – and either spelling is given.
copland @28 – but it is in Collins.
I found this fairly easy to solve but mostly impossible to parse! V odd ! I don’t remember it happening before. But why is Sean on screen Mr Bean?
For those of us who attended e.g. Netherlee Primary School in the 1950s, sums & problems were different aspects of arithmetic. For a sum, what to calculate is specified. For a problem, solver has to figure out what to calculate.
DotInFrance @31
See here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Bean
Not to be confused with the real Mr Bean:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Bean:_The_Animated_Series 😉
Thanks Vlad for an excellent start to the year and to Eileen for the blog
SKIDDOO (sic) is also in the OED.
DiF @ 31 Sean Bean is an actor who has appeared on TV, hence “On screen”.
Great puzzle from Vlad to start the year, lovely blog from Eileen, and interesting discussion.
I didn’t get around to parsing them all. Thanks Eileen for help with EVADE (DAVE TV?) SAUDI, AMASSED, UP-TEMPO.
I parsed DAMASCENE as a moment of insight or revelation, but could this be a double definition, ie both revelatory (damascene moment) and material (as damask)?
My favourites were COME TO NOTHING, HAIR SHIRT, DENDROLOGISTS, SHAMBOLIC, DAMASCENE, SANCTUM.
Thanks Vlad and Eileen and HNY to all setters and solvers.
This was slow going but I got there in the end. “Am ass, ed” and the “sow D” both raised a smile. Also a tick for CHINATOWN for the misleading “feature”.
I’m a bit puzzled by SUSHI. Doesn’t the definition have to be “hot food unlikely to be this”? Just “food unlikely to be this” doesn’t really make sense. But that means that “hot” is doing double duty which seems a bit iffy.
Many thanks Vlad and Eileen.
A great many unparsed, too many to list, so thank you Eileen. NHO NOTUM, DAVE, MAENADS.
LordJim@36 For SUSHI I interpreted it as “not likely to be kosher”. Sushi can be kosher if carefully prepared with the right fish (and other ingredients) but generally is not. However, given my lacklustre parsing of the rest of today’s puzzle, I would not recommend taking that as… uh… kosher,
Not the one for me. Too hard.
Appreciated that it was good for better solvers 😊.
It took a while, but it was very rewarding. FOI was IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES, which with COME TO NOTHING opened up the SE half. I was stuck for a while with the NW, then the neat CHINATOWN and the splendid MY NADS, sorry, MAENADS, gave enough toeholds to progress to the finish.
LOI was SAUDI, which only yielded to “what fits these crossers that kind of works”: the post-parsing took me and Mrs TheSheep a bit of puzzling to work out.
Too many other ticks to name. A great start to the year, beautifully pitched, for me at least, to be challenging but not too daunting.
Many thanks Vlad & Eileen.
For my taste, too many clues indicated the first letter of word – none controversial but I just think of it as the least imaginative form of wordplay. Those aside, lots of fantastic entries made for an enjoyable, chewy puzzle with a real feeling of achievement at the end. SAUDI made me chuckle, and EQUAL was my pick of the day. Not sure that I agree with Eileen that the NHO NOTUM was gettable from the clue; I tried ‘nutom’ first and ‘notum’ second, although I suppose that I could have done essentially the same thing with a google search before entering the wrong answer, but it didn’t seem to me to be worth the (minor) trouble. Thanks Vlad and Eileen.
Thanks both. Not a great start for me in the new year, but Vlad is to me as Paul is to others – I am generally pleased to make any progress at all. In the event I enjoyed success in the NE quadrant before running aground in the western half with CHINATOWN, AMASSED, MAENADS (a double lock – never heard of either the frenzied ladies or ‘nads’), NOSEBANDS and UNSPENT holding out to the end.
So once again Eileen gets the Gunga Din Award. But no complaints. A HNY to all.
Eileen – special thanks for the link on the origin of “doolally” – I’d not known that before. It did sound like something to do with the Raj, but I’d never chased it up.
On another note having read the various discussions about DAMASCENE: I’ve now got “The Road to Damascus” stuck in my head as the title song of a biblical epic starring Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour.
DerekTheSheep @42
🙂
Had never heard of DAVE–what a British thing to call a TV channel–and I forgot to loop back and parse SAUDI (I’d assumed that the 4 was going to be a reference to 4d, which of course it turns out was wrong). But those were the only bits of parsing that eluded me in this very tough but ultimately mostly fair puzzle. I laughed out loud at MAENADS, which I guess goes to show where my sense of humor trends. The clue for CHINATOWN had a weirdly verbose definition, which also made it particularly difficult. (Great movie, if you’ve never seen it; and not all the corruption involved is the political kind.) That’s a trick that setters could use more; although I’ve seen people here complain about clues that aren’t as concise as they could be, I personally think it’s great if it either results in a clever misdirection or a clever surface (or both).
Thanks to both Vlad (I think) and Eileen.
[If anyone is curious enough to try and find the Dave channel, it is now called “U & Dave”]
My first puzzler was NOTUM – an obvious anagram so I wrote in and then looked up. Then I recalled PRONOTUM which was a word I had come across, and is presumably part of the NOTUM. You learn something new….
Then I wondered about SKIDDOO. Another write-in, thought it means a sort of snowmobile (spelt with one D) but I found it can be an interjection.
The rest was fine but tough. Favourites? As so often with the Impaler, too many to list all. What shall I point out? MAENADS (ha ha!); IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES; AMASSED; DAMASCENE; DENDROLOGISTS; HAIR SHIRT … and lots more!
Thanks to Vlad the Impaler, and Eileen.
I usually don’t bother when I see Vlad. With nothing else to do today, I struggled through it and had answers for everything except 3d. I am aware of the TV channel but did not think of it.
Thank you for the blog Eileen I enjoyed this Vlad puzzle and the whimsy therein. Stretched my new year’s brain on a few occasions. Wishing everyone a peaceful, joyous 2026.
Tough for my solving abilities, but with patience – working on it periodically as the day wore on – then I ended up one short of completion (MAENADS). Much of it was unparsed, relying on suspected definitions, crossers etc, and liberal use of the check button. But it was worth the perseverance, and was fun rather than a slog.
This was the mildest Vlad I’ve ever seen (probably has to do with the New Year?), and I was even able to finish it, for once, albeit very slowly and with a few unparsed. I particularly liked HAIR SHIRT, SCANDALMONGER, SEDAN (for a clever trick with Mr Bean), and SANCTUM. I parsed SUS as the Latin for pig, which I believe also makes sense, although I’m sure the blogger’s version is more correct. Thanks Vlad and Eileen and happy New Year all!
It always amuses me that Sean Bean is pronounced “shawn been”!
Lord Jim@36 it is similar to SHAMBOLIC , needs a pause after hot . Changing things slightly – Not kosher (that) I eat hot PAUSE unlikely to be this (sushi ) .
SUSHI is likely to be – Not kosher (that) I eat COLD .
9D – I am working through a book of Araucaria puzzles I bought many years ago and found recently while tidying. There is some amazing stuff in it, including an alphabetical jigsaw clued in rhyming couplets.
Paul @53 , the alphabetical jigsaws were quite common and often had rhymes . Sometimes the word entries could be in different ways and there would be a hidden message , such as zenith across the top , to indicate the right way . Other setters have done them including Julius in the FT but he did say he had to stop because they do not work with the on-line apps , whatever that means .
Paul @53 and Roz @54
You’re reminding me again of why he’s ‘a still much-missed crossword setter’. Puck ( also very sadly missed), whom I have always thought of as Araucaria’s natural successor, also wrote very clever alphabetical puzzles. I must have missed Julius’ explanation of why he had to stop – I don’t know what it means, either.
I think it’s just that you can’t have an online interactive grid for an alphabetical. There are other forms that don’t work online too.
Julius just mentioned it once in an FT blog , I think they had started a new on-line version of their puzzles .
The thrice yearly Bank Holiday Specials seem to be dying out as well .
Can’t say I miss the big Bank Holiday specials, Roz – anything bigger than 15 squared seems rather like work. However I did often attempt the double grid ones – were they exclusively Araucaria’s?
Muffin@58: there’s a double grid alphabetical in the current (Xmas special) New Statesman. So far we have sorted out all the answers but have failed (twice) to get them into the grids.
It might be paper only, though.
The first Special from Maskarade was a double grid , both alphabetical and 26 rivers A-Z .
Thanks Roz @52. So it’s effectively a clue-as-definition? (I’ve got a cold at the moment and am struggling to think straight — that’s my excuse anyway.)
On the subject of alphabeticals, Soup has done at least one clued in rhyming couplets.
The double grid alphabetical in the New Statesman mentioned by DerekTheSheep@59 is by Maskarade. He sets as Anorak in the NS, where I believe he is crossword editor.
Thanks to Eileen for the blog and to others who commented.
Happy New Year to everyone who contributes to this brilliant site.
Hector@62 – thanks for that! I knew Anorak ( Tom Johnson) was the NS’s crossword editor (as well as being a frequent setter there), but not that he was also Maskarade.
Pretty tough with a lot of fiendish misdirection. I did wonder for a while if I was going to finish, but eventually it all fell satisfyingly into place. Bonus marks for the reference to one of my favourite films – CHINATOWN.
Only just finished! Tough start to the new year. Thanks
I seem to be the only one who doesnt really get or like 14a amassed. I see its im an ass and kind of thought early on it was something of an admission by the setter. The definition fairly obvs but to me its a bit of a leap to get to am ass Ed, as that doesnt even sound like what you’d say?
Ade@67 – in crosswordland the use of words that spell correctly but don’t sound correctly is a deliberate misdirection device, not a mistake. It came up for example in the Dec 29 puzzle by Omnibus, 26d “Spanish show of approval for Hackney slum? (3)” Answer= OLE, as in (H)OLE
Loved the puzzle by the way, took me all day, thank you Vlad. And Eileen. And Alan Connor for scheduling a toughie for New Year’s Day when time is hopefully less pressing.
Thanks Vlad and a very happy New Year to you too!
With just over a half completed, I gave this another day in hopes of making progress, but only managed one more solution. The rest refused to crack. I correctly guessed 14a AMASSED 23a SUSHI, 19d SANCTUM, 23d SEDAN, but couldn’t get the parsing
Thanks Vlad and Eileen. We had a tough time with this yesterday and today (it doesn’t help that Baz is ill and falls asleep a lot). We got it all out but nearly all by intuiting the answer and then parsing; an exception was the excellent CHINATOWN. We didn’t parse EQUAL and had trouble with SAUDI as also misled by 4d. For the record, I thought they were MY NADS as well, and assumed DAMASCENE cloth was diaphanous instead of thinking of Saul. A challenging start to the year!
A very enjoyable, and accessible, puzzle. Many thanks to Vlad and Eileen, of course…
And a Happy New Year to everyone one of us!! x
23, SEDAN was a clever diversion in referring to Mr Bean. Naturally thought it was Rowan Atkinson’s character especially with ‘doolally’. Sean Bean never occurred to me. I don’t know how you guys manage to figure it out.
Can someone please explain why 4 = “D” in the homophone in 22d.
Robruss24 @75
If you label your sows in order using letters, the fourth one will be sow d.
I know I’m 6 days late – just catching up on last week’s puzzles – I just wanted to say I’m always particularly delighted when I see Eileen’s name on the blog.
While I’m here, lots of sushi is perfectly kosher, indeed many variations are vegetarian.