It's back—here is the BB Christmas crossword competition 2021!

This year's crossword

We're getting back to routine (after a year off) with another seasonal prize crossword. Of course the fun is in the taking part, not the winning, but there's a magnum of champagne for the first fully correct entry out of the hat, and there's a little something for all correctly completed entries. You can download the puzzle as a .pdf file here:

download the crossword as a printable .pdf

The season to be jolly

Much as in previous years, the puzzle is a mixture of clues. We've tried once more to give a flavour of Christmas, Cork, wine and so on where possible. The idea is to bring people together for a bit of fun and see what the meeting of minds comes up with.

Googling allowed

You can enlist the help of artificial intelligence, by all means, but the puzzle is on the cryptic side in order to give humans a chance. On the whole, though, none of the solutions should be beyond the reach of an average crossword fan with a standard dictionary (or internet access) and a little curiosity.

One thing we're not, and the closing date

Please note, we repeat, that we're not professional crossword compilers, so please make allowances, don't take it too seriously, and enjoy it for what it is—you've got until midnight on Sunday 9th January 2022 to submit your entries.

Prizes and results

On Monday 10th January, 2022 or very shortly afterwards, we'll hold a draw for first prize, and announce the winner here and on Twitter and Facebook too.

The first prize is a big bottle of really good champagne

We're giving away a magnum of really fine Pinot Noir champagne from one of our favourite suppliers, Jean-François Clouet of André Clouet in the grand cru village of Bouzy. A litre and a half should give you at least a dozen glasses of delicious bubbly!

A prize for all correct entries

All correct and complete entries received—one per person, please—will win a €5 gift voucher. We'll need either an e-mail address or a mobile telephone number in order to send the vouchers on. You won't receive our occasional newsletters or any further correspondence as a result, unless you choose to do so.

How to enter

Download and print the crossword using the button at the top of this post or this link, or collect a printed copy from us. (We've published the grid and clues here just to give you an idea of what you're in for). Complete the crossword and then:

• Hand in your entry at our shop in the English Market, or
• Send legible scans or photos of your entry to the e-mail address on the form, or
• Post your completed Christmas crossword to us at Bubble Brothers, Unit Eight, Cork Bonded Warehouses, Little Island, Cork T45 WP22

 

	ACROSS
1 and 4	Wine merchants delivering year-round sparkle (6,8)
4	see 1 across
10	Do your bit for the environment—or feel envy (4,5)
11	see 9 down
12	Dark and nutty—they're a kind of 14 down (8)
13	Blend of red and blue seen at bubblebrothers.ie (6)
15	Taps into the likes of 20 down (7)
16	Drink little by little (3,2)
18	Three-sevenths of January (3)
19	Beer is in the smallest outbuilding at the brewery (5)
21	Endless Palestine upheaval leads to Irish cheers (6)
24	Sommeliers make use of them—but there are strings attached (6)
26	Possibly brought on by an excess of wine, or crosswords (8)
28	Name given to internationally proven grape varieties (5)
29	GG's lucky footwear? (9)
30	Sufficiently chewed, deer nuts become a mouthful with bite (8)
31	Some people 10 across at the thought of this seasonal vegetable (6)

 

	DOWN
1	Up for a toast (7)
2	Light red wine from Lake Garda (9)
3	The capital of La Rioja (7)
5	Ice in your drinks? (4)
6	They 'cheer but not inebriate' in Cowper's poem (7)
7	Finish your food! (3,2)
8	Have an inkling—it's a bit iffy (7)
9 & 11 across	The choir, but without the usual highs and lows (6,3,5)
14	Fino or Manzanilla, for example (3,6)
17	Paul Street toy shop takes its name from this reformed character (8)
19	Da is tangled up in tinsel with No-ël for a glass (7)
20	Wine barrel looks heavy to begin with (7)
22	The snow in 'Good King Wenceslas' is crisp, even --- ----- (3,4)
23	High place that's sure to get snow (7)
25	Mr O'Broin has seasonal bird in a flap (5)
27	Pull old penny from hedge and exchange for cooking fat (4)