This year we received six entries for the RPM Trophy and three for the World Championship (WC).
The judges studied every grid – whose authorship had been hidden behind anonymising tags before being sent on to us. We may at some point have thought we could detect who – among regular entrants – was responsible for which grid in either competition; but I at least was wrong each time!
While we were able to agree on a rough rank order in the case of the RPM entries, for the WC the decision was so close (each of us preferring by a very small margin one particular submission) that we decided to enlist additional help. We then had three preferences to consider! We also had an invaluable additional set of criteria to help in finding a winner.
3D World Championship
⭐ 1st: Heather Knowles and Chris Cooper (Calluna)
⭐ 2nd: Abby Braunsdorf (Absolution)
⭐ 3rd: Max Jackson (Xam)
The three World Championship entries each had considerable merits. Not only did all the candidates supply stimulating grids and word lists, but everyone submitted highly competent and in some cases outstanding entries for the clue-writing section (see below), judged expertly and wisely as ever by Shirley Curran, whom solvers here will know as Curmudgeon. One entry, a favourite of one judge, had a delightful theme, with excellent thematic components, but in its Easter Egg and overall presentation was perhaps a little “safe”; another entry, with a remarkable anniversary component and some ingenious placing of thematic elements, was the favourite of another of the judges, but some solutions, it was felt, would present difficulties for setter and solver; the third entry, with a lovely conceit cleverly linked to the 2026 calendar itself and ingeniously exploited within the list of clues, was also a consistent piece of grid-building which presented no problems, while being impressively filled with varied thematic items.
Our decision was a difficult one, involving several telephone-calls involving good-natured claims and counter-claims on behalf of this and that candidate. With what would have been, in examination terms, percentage scores all in the mid to high eighties, a rank order emerged which should give credit to all three entrants: a grid by Xam (Max Jackson) was third, and will appear in April next year; a grid by Absolution (Abby Braunsdorf) will appear in June, having achieved second place; the winner by the narrowest of margins, to appear in March, is a grid by the 2024 World Champions Calluna (Heather Knowles and Chris Cooper), who thus repeat their feat from the 2022 competition.
Clues for CRIB
Rip-off lunch in Sydney (4)
by Calluna
Double definition – Rip-off (CRIB) to steal, cheat or plagiarise; and a light meal in Australia or New Zealand (CRIB).
COMMENDED. There is a problem here in that the verbal sense and nounal sense of crib that the setter has used are both under the same headword in Chambers. The rule for double definition clues is that they need to use different headwords. However, the clue produced a convincing surface reading and was effectively concise and not too easy to solve since many solvers would not be aware of the Australian term.
Copy head of carpal bone (4)
by Xam
C(arpal) + RIB
HIGHLY COMMENDED. The setter’s choice of ‘copy’ for crib leaves the solver initially pondering since it doesn’t automatically bring to mind the ‘plagiarism’ aspect of the term. ‘bone’ too, to produce rib, gives the solver a challenge, so the clue is not over easy but it works well in that it is concise and has a plausible surface sense, though I did wonder what type of surgeon or artist would be copying the head of a bone.
Scribe uncovered plagiarism (4)
by Absolution
Definition: these biscuits. Crackers. Wordplay: CR is a little credit added to ACKERS, a synonym of money.
VERY HIGHLY COMMENDED. A beautifully concise clue – one of those that makes one say “I wish I had thought of this myself.” It would be a speedy solve for experienced crossworders but the surface reading is spot on and very clever.
Clues for TRIUMPHANT
Swaggering Trump ain’t heading home, panic (10)
by Calluna
An anagram (panic) of TRUMP+ AINT+ H (first letter(heading) of Home)
HIGHLY COMMENDED. The surface reading of this clue is sure to raise a smile though ‘swaggering’ has a pejorative sense that is not, perhaps, shared with ‘triumphant’. Chambers includes ‘panic’ in its list of anagram indicators (in the sense of ‘to throw into panic’) That works in the wordplay of the clue which needs a term that prompts the solvers to anagrind those letters. Some editors would object to ‘heading home’ since H is the ‘heading of home’. The clue is concise and effective.
Exultant Bottom restrains ego in the endless, endless panto (10)
by Xam
I in RUMP (=Bottom) in TH(e) + (p)ANT(o)
VERY HIGHLY COMMENDED. The surface reading of this clue works perfectly with a series of images of the Bard’s Bottom (his ego, his exulting and the fact maybe that MSND is so, so long – almost endless!). The clue very cleverly puts together those clue elements TH(e), RUMP and (p)ANT(o) in a suitably short nine words. It is a pity that the ‘endless’ had to be used twice in two crossword senses of the word. Some editors object to one or other of those senses (perhaps ‘the almost endless panto’ would have obviated the problem). However, this is truly a fine clue that uses a Chambers sense of ‘triumphant’.
“Tiny Hand” Trump (not “Odd Donny”) bewilderingly victorious (10)
by Absolution
Anagram (TINY HAND TRUMP -(not) (Odd) D(o)N(n)Y )
VERY HIGHLY COMMENDED. ‘Victorious’ uses a Chambers definition of triumphant that relates effectively with the Trump of the clue and ‘bewilderingly’ (also perhaps politically relevant) is an effective anagram indicator with ‘Donny’ completing the picture for solvers. ‘Odd Donny’ would earn editorial comments – ‘oddly’ or ‘intermittently/ from time to time/ now and then’ is required to tell the solver to take alternate letters, not just ‘odd’, but the context of the clue justifies the ‘odd’. The surface reading of this clue is amusing, prompting the solver to recall somewhat salacious Fox discussions of Tiny Hand Trump.
RPM Trophy results 2024
⭐ Winner: Garry Stripling (Gin)
In the case of the RPM Trophy competition, which is a matter of grids and word-lists only, the prime consideration is what will make an outstanding contribution to the developing art of 3D construction as shown in the Calendar. The inventiveness shown by Eric Westbrook (Sirius) in the early days of the Calendar – and by “45” himself, the dedicatee of the trophy – needs to be continued. Our designers show amazing innovation not only in exploiting the more “traditional” cuboids, but in the creation of new 3D grids of original shapes; while in recent years we have seen new ways of concealing what we call Easter Eggs – thematic discoveries to be discovered either in plain sight or by some manipulation after the main solving task is done.
The clear winner in this category was the grid submitted by Garry Stripling (Gin) which will appear as the 2026 Calendar page for July. Its Seven Dials construction also features a unique choice to be made in the central core, while another group of words provides the source for a further – and ingenious – post-solve revelation. Congratulations to Gin, who also provided the grid for last year’s tie-break puzzle and this year’s fascinating November puzzle.