30 MARCH 1996, Page 51

CROSSWORD 1254: Facetious claims by Doc

A first prize of £25 and a bottle of Graham's Late Bottled Vintage 1989 Port for the first correct solution opened on 15 April, with two runners-up prizes of £15 (or, for UK solvers, the latest edition of The Chambers Dictionary - ring the word `Dictionary'). Entries to: Crossword 1254, The Spectator, 56 Doughty Street, London WC1N 2LL.

The unclued I ghts (three of two words) can be arranged Onto a pair of associated phrases, verifiable under the appropriate head- ing in Brewer.

Name Address ACROSS 1 I deliver the best (5) 6 Perish, perhaps, about mid- October, producing fruit (7) 13 Fox roaming madly round prince's tree (9, hyphened) 15 Aggregates from forestry (4) 17 Electroplated ghastly green centrepiece (7) 18 At heart, perhaps, on reflection, a flower? (3) 19 Self-centred extremes of existing: love is money (10) 21 Non-drinker embracing winner is silent (5) 24 Unit first for overhead clouds throughout airfields (4) 27 Scots list of timeless links (4) 28 Often really odd characters are omitted, being uncultivated (5) 30 Vouchers for new radiator, including new clutch initially (10, hyphened) 33 Bird starts teaching (3) 35 Area wherein corn first turns, say (7) 36 The Oval, otherwise, is round the bend (7) 37 Head cuts short father (4) 39 Sound of plain tale at church level (10) 40 Houses include leases backing holiday homes (7) 41 Game over —what a fiddle! (5) DOWN

3 Snakes and ladders hasn't begun (6)

4 Redesigned Devon resort loses one leading gold hen (9) 5 Humble sailor on raging sea (5) 6 Reference for statement (8) 7 Is this fund worthless drivel? (5) 8 Flight from Hungary by air, maybe, about 1st of June (5) 9 Botanical description of pale lavender and bits of lilac, perhaps (14, hyphened) 10 Excitement playing pool in Scots hall (6, hyphened) 12 The young skate on one sports ground (6) 14 Layers in 16 and 22 (6) 20 Hot days when statisticians surround church (9) 23 Seniors' old flags (8) 25 Exercise or rest! (8) 26 Trifling madrigal includes Latin line (6) 29 Gold fruit of the stables (6) 31 Go away — and bang that drum! (6, two words) 34 Carousal successes midweek (5) 35 Brontd alter ego in London (5)

Solution to 1251: Diabolical

The unclued lights, when preceded by DEVIL'S, formed the names of geographical features of Britain.

First prize: D. G. Tallis, Oxford. Runners-up: Hugh Thomas, Felix- stowe, Suffolk; F. A. Scott, Enfield, Middlesex.