12 JUNE 1993, Page 61

CROSSWORD 1113: Skin-deep by Mass

A first prize of £20 and a bottle of Graham's Malvedos 1979 Vintage Port for the first correct solution opened on 28 June, with two runners-up prizes of £10 (or, for UK solvers, a copy of Chambers English Dictionary — ring the word 'Dictionary'). Entries (no photocopies) to: Crossword 1113, The Spectator, 56 Doughty Street, London WC1N 2LL.

Some of the other unclued lights (one is hyphened, two are phrases and two are plurals) are 37D.

Name Address Dictionary prizes are sent out by the 'Post-a-Book' service. ACROSS 6 Luis composed commercial epic (6) 13 Made mistake with Queen: sign to stop (5) 14 Short fur coat, always white fur

(7)

15 Air current behind moving vehi- cle makes maples stir (10) 16 Type of pottery from Malta Agnes brought back (7) 20 371/2 gallons and not quite merry! (4) 22 Note length of wall, we're told: time to decorate anew (7) 23 Bull concisely worded (4) 24 Namely, old bailiff's to write begging letters (7) 26 Drank tot with last of cod (bat- tered) (7) 30 Wrack in snorkel? Plankton (4) 31 Departure grabs general as pressing (7) 34 Piano tune for duo (4) 36 Champion (with carpal action, we hear) in ski manoeuvre (7) 38 Resistant? Certainly without long threadworms (10) 40 Touchy about Conservative re- cord 42 Pulse in n) milk (6) 43 Swelling, roaring around yard (8) DOWN 2 Obdurate, eh? Darned reckless (8) 3 Signs (cairns, in Ordnance Sur- vey) (5) 4 A Liberal in situation with three unequal sides (7) 5 Mice in splitting old walls (7)

6 Tirade on single rhyme, re- portedly. minor (6)

7 Mountain range I saw outside (6) 8 A northern plough, obsolete almost (5) 17 Ogre's gold club (3) 18 Poetically expound a deity's works (5) 21 Tentacle on alien's helmet (5) 25 Purgative subsequently swal- lowed by a German (8) 27 Ancient character of Market Harborough (3) 28 State of French Franciscan nun 29 abular assorted pearls, hard inside (7) 32 Greek and a German in cave (6) 33 Middle of maggot bitten by river carp (6) 35 Scottish tax southern Spanish wine (5) 37 See preamble (5)

Solution to 1110: 43A The other four unclued lights (1A, 9A, 14A, 13D) were ALPHABETS (15D) suggested by 43A CHARAC- TER ESSAY (i.e. a composition based on letters or symbols).

First prize: M. Galloway, Marlow, Bucks; Runners-up: Rebecca Ren- wick, Northampton; T. E. F. Gra- ham, Southampton.