#1ACGrids series presents our third grid for this year “Money Matters” from “Veeyares”, exclusively for our solvers.
Answers can be submitted by anyone who wishes to participate, on or before EOD 6h Mar. 2026. All those who submit entries have a chance to enter our leader board for 2026.
Annotations for the puzzle will be posted in the blog on Saturday, March 7th, 2026.
Use the same Login details to complete the puzzle (STEP 1) and Bonus form (STEP 2). BOTH steps need to be completed for the submission to be complete.
“Yin Yang” from “Amygdala” was our second grid for 2026.
Stats: 56 solvers attempted this puzzle. 37 solvers managed to complete the puzzle and the bonus forms. One solver did not complete the bonus form. Only 29 solvers got the full score. (more…)
Limit of 1 clue per setter. Please Annotate your clues clearly.
Please login to participate. You can use your wordpress/gmail account for login but please use one account consistently so that your performance can be tracked for the leader board
Contest closes at 8:00 AM, February 27, 2026 after which VOTING will be open.
All participants who set clues are expected to vote as well. So please check when the Voting opens and/or bookmark the links
Voting will close at 7:00 AM, March 1, 2026 after which Results will be announced.
Thanks to Kalyan Bandyopadhyay for hosting the contest.
This week’s 1ACCWC #554 on BRAIN ROT saw solid turnout with 28 entries and lively community.
Ramki Krishnan crushed it with 41 points (16 voters) for his acrostic gem:
“Mental decline from baseless rumours and idiotic nonsense read on Twitter, primarily? (5,3)”
Spot-on topical surface ranting about doomscrolling —voters loved the relevance and
ssavtaar took a strong second (30 pts) with the clean Spoonerism “Spooner’s fall caused cognitive decline” (RAIN BROUGHT → BRAIN ROT). Short, neat, and popular despite other three other Spoonerism based clues splitting votes.
Anne de Pimodan came in third (23 pts) with the cheeky “Minx exposed pants following underwear malfunction” (BRA + IN ROT from exposed minx). Risqué surface won fans, even though some commenters nitpicked the def.
Other standouts:
– Satyen Nabar’s acrostic/anag hybrid on browsing nonsense (22 pts) felt timely.
– Abhay Phadnis’s container “Spoilt kid consumes kinky ‘noir’” (21 pts) was tight and fun.
Comments from participants focused on indicator placement issues (e.g., hidden words), awkward grammar, forced surfaces, and similarity in wordplay .
Voters rewarded modern, relatable themes (reels, Twitter, scrolling) over pure mechanics..
Fun, meme-friendly contest overall—Ramki’s winner nailed the zeitgeist! What did you think of the top ones? 😄
– Very nice clue, 1 pt was almost deducted for leads instead of leading, but generosity prevailed over cynicism
– “Stray’s content” or “content of stray” would be better from the POV of cryptic grammar. But then your surface would need to be reworked also.
– Leading instead of Leading would have been better, nevertheless full points
Rev Spooner’s fall led to decline in cognitive function (5, 3)
15
6
Rain (fall) Brought (led to) is the Spoonerism of Brain Rot. Definition: decline in cognitive function
– Best of the Spoonerisms
– A bit wordy compared to the other clue having the same wordplay
– Best of the Spooner lot of clues
– Two almost identical clues!
One wearing lingerie torn badly – a side-effect of social media? (5,3)
14
6
One=I, lingerie=BRA, torn badly=NROT, wearing=containment indicator, def=a side-effect of social media?
Congrats to the toppers and all those who participated.Over to Ramki Krishnan for the next contest.If you have any comments or feedback on the contest or the new 1ACCWC app. or any suggestions, please leave a comment and I shall try and incorporate it.
All participants who set clues are expected to vote. You are not allowed to vote for your own clue
Click on clues to shortlist them, click on the Shortlisted Button to see shortlisted clues only
Use arrows to move clues up or down the list if you wish to. Clicking on the buttons moves the clue right to the Top or Bottom of the list.
Allocate a total of 10 points exactly across 4 clues e.g. 4,3,2,1 (ideal allocation) or 3,3,3,1 etc. A running total is visible on the top of the page to help you see what you have allocated.
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Participants who do not vote will lose 10 points for the round
Do check out our Leaderboards. These includes points for all players whose clues figure in the Top 10 each week and gets accumulated over the year.
The most dominant URBAN LEGEND involved Greenland which figured in as many as 7 clues., three of which made it to the Top 10. Two clues used a very neat charade construct using singers (Keith) URBAN and (John) LEGEND. Several Leg+End combinations were also popular.
The most innovative was one that took the head out of a turban. Great selection of clues but ultimately it was a drunk nun that took away the Gold!
Congrats to the toppers and all those who participated.
Over to Kalyan Bandyopadhyay for the next contest.
If you have any comments or feedback on the contest or the new 1ACCWC app. or any suggestions, please leave a comment and I shall try and incorporate it.
Thanks to Shobha for hosting the contest. Setters had a “pain in the neck” fixation with whiplash and many combined a “fashionable” (HIP) joint “with” a “wide” “wife” (W) to construct their wordplay. While some hid the answer in a “trendy” LA show others stuffed a cricket tournament (IPL) into a “mess” (HASH), or twisted a “stylish shawl” into an anagrammatic knot. There were “thongs” and “roasts” to “residue after smoking” (ASH) adding to the mix. Though the injury is no joke, watching setters struggle to find new ways to combine something “cool” with a “violent blow” was pretty entertaining.
Fashionable lady\’s starting to get dressed in clean thong
18
8
(Fashionable (HIP), Lady\’s starting (L)) to get dressed in (containment indicator), clean (WASH) ; Def THONG
– Very nice clue, in the style of a certain doctor
– I don\’t get the definition
– I didn\’t know a thong could mean a whiplash, but it\’s correct so nice clue!
When you demolish an estate, you might develop it later
14
5
Cryptic def
Congrats to the toppers and all those who participated.
Over to Textrous for the next contest.
If you have any comments or feedback on the contest or the new 1ACCWC app. or any suggestions, please leave a comment and I shall try and incorporate it.
– mpt sure re anagrind
– I don’t really buy ‘another’ as an anagrind (especially if placed after the fodder)
– IMO, \”another\” as anagrind would need to precede the fodder – it cannot apply to the previous word(s)
Disorder caused by endless humiliation and praise (8)
12
6
SHAM(e) + BLES(s)
– The surface doesn’t sound
Congrats to the toppers and all those who participated.
Over to Shobha for the next contest.
If you have any comments or feedback on the contest or the new 1ACCWC app. or any suggestions, please leave a comment and I shall try and incorporate it.
“2’s Company” from “Mathrix” was our first grid for 2026.
Stats: 57 solvers attempted this puzzle. 29 solvers managed to complete the puzzle and the bonus forms partly or fully. Only 15 solvers got the full score. (more…)
