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Enjoyed the gridfill, the overall structure is very clever, thought the end game was verging on the ridiiculous - not sure how anyone figured out that was what you had to do from that message.

Sixth fail of the year for me - wasted two hours getting nowhere on the end game, then came on here and even with all the explanations it still took me a long time to figure out what to do.

Smellyharry - I'm inclined to agree with you. The grid fill was good but the end game instructions were abstruse to the point of incomprehensible. I would not have completed this offering without specific guidance from others on this site. Many thanks to them and a great new year to everyone else who enjoys these weekly challenges.

Thank you, Smartie. In the middle of the night I suddenly realised where I had gone wrong ! I had an A where I should have had an N in one of the unchecked squares. What a relief.
Sorry to be late thanking you, I had a very long lie-in!

I do not agree with earlier posts that the end game was unfair. The preamble was carefully worded. The fact that the instruction should be used “along with the above text” was a strong indication that the above text would be used to form a template. I knew as I started counting the letters that they would total 169.
I found getting the theme word from the remaining clues a bit trickier but again careful wording of the preamble “finally” got me there.
For me one of the best of the year.

Hi all! A very slow solve for me this week but finally making headway. Have got about 50% of the grid filled and the instruction is starting to take shape. However, I would appreciate a (probably at this stage blatant) nudge on 17a. I have seen various nudges towards it being a French word, but so far I have a**ir and cannot find an answer that works for the definition. I am pretty sure it doesn’t have an extra letter but could be wrong. Any help appreciated. Thanks.

Hi Charlesberg, it is AVOIR, an abbreviation of avoirdupois, the old weights system.

Thanks Meursault! I had considered that as an option but written it off as my limited French knowledge told me that was specifically “to have”. One step closer to solving. I’m sure I’ll be back though!

I think that in nearly all cases, you're right, Charlesberg. The exceptions I'm aware of relate to space and time, so "the door is 2 meters high" becomes "the door has 2 meters of height" and "I am 6" becomes "I have 6 years." The measurement is not an existence, but a possession. By the way, I didn't confirm it before, 17 has no extra letter.

Help with 23 down and 39 across would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Hi, rogerjw,

23dn: definition is colouring, usual chemical symbol for copper, usual one-letter abbreviation for recipe, followed by five-letter spice beginning with c. First letter of answer is cut.

39ac: definition is mouldy, two middle letters of hyacinth inside three-letter word meaning wet earth. Last letter of answer is cut.