16 MARCH 1991, Page 52

CROSSWORD

For the thousandth crossword a celebratory prize of £100 and two further prizes of £10 (or, for UK solvers, a copy of Chambers English Dictionary — ring the word 'Dictionary') are offered for the first three correct solutions opened on 2 April. Entries to: Crossword 1000, The Spectator, 56 Doughty Street, London WC1N 2LL.

This week's unclued rghts, four words and four phrases, are variously apt. The clues each comprise a definition and the hidden letters of the light consecutively jumbled. Each jumble includes one extra letter, and these extras in clue order spell out an apt seven-word phrase. IIA is a compound formed from a word in Chambers. Ignore two accents.

Name Address

Dictionary prizes are sent out by the 'Post-a-Book' service.

ACROSS 9 Flat region of America — pam- pa, alternatively (4) 11 Meteorite of mere stone, mono- lithic hard stone (10) 13 Malayan royal prince (4) 15 American's behind wreck of ambulance (6, two words) 17 Present a bare palm (5) 20 Calm? I do love country houses generally (8) 21 Cash list returned for tax- collectors (7) 23 Cuttings from enterprising paper

(7)

24 Indian, a trickster with rope (5) 26 Animal, a gargantuan type of lizard (5) 32 Cleared place and danced about 34 Saved it — coin, debased, no longer current? (8) 36 Threnody, grief-stricken song of mourning (5) 38 Pear from tin is delicious (5) 40 Knock back gins, doubles (4)

41 What matters preoccupied the likes of Milton's Satan? (10)

42 Former land-owner let a base- ment (4) DOWN

1 Musical introit, great opening (8) 2 Burrow? Lair, then (5) 3 Jean's nineteen, diminutive girl .. . (6) 4 . . with diminutive boy, both teenagers (4) 5 Rhinegold's influence (7) 6 Landed gent in Orkney? Indeed, rural laird (7) 7 Judo kid I faced in combative sport (6)

8 Slander name of editor (6) 14 Creek mariner discovered (7) 16 Cups on shelf I accumulated (8) 22 Tested, a dye is safe (7) 25 Etna's redistributed volcanic rock (8)

27 He made a scholarly professor (7)

29 Work of art poet embellished (7) 30 Basic, a covey's brood-pouch (6) 31 Summon Celtic arbitrator (6) 33 Inferior god — Inca's, apparent- ly (6) 35 Weeds from ebbing sea, always

5)

37 Singles out avenger of blood (4)