CROSSWORD

A first prize of £25 and a bottle of Graham's Late Bottled Vintage 1989 Port for the first correct solution opened on 2 September, with two runners-up prizes of £15 (or, for UK solvers, the Cham- bers Dictionary – ring the word 'Dictionary') Entries to: Cross- word 1274, The Spectator, 56 Doughty Street, London WCIN 2LL.

The discovery a century ago of ID (hyphened) at 34 (later re- named 38 16 in the 23 led to a 35 by IA to the 7D. COLD COLD TRRRRREKS OPUS gives the unchecked and mutually checked letters of these answers. Ignore two accents and an apostrophe.

Name Address ACROSS 7 The old and weak bow (3) 11 Near gibberish on note is original Parsee (6) 13 Trite playing in rock song (7) 15 Sharks almost reach sailor (5) 17 Earn odd cents with hard graft (6)

18, Fluid ball-game and dead close (5 20 Sna)

ke symbol aged ox swallows (6)

21 Cat drops bass fiddle in dance (5) 22 Lizards start to give sound of parrots (7)

27 Raising cost of slaughter, with empty abattoir rebounded

(7)

29 Patch with huge tree (5) 30 Left-winger's gripe (6) 32 Unusual Norse gentleman (5) 36 Canoe back and forth? (5) 37 A bed for Brigitte benighted (5) 39 Capital soldier returns, hugged by goddess (6) 40 Slug in batter (3) 41 In essence, team with 1,000 for 5 gets match (11) DOWN 2 Gaol rich corrupt triumvir? (8) 3 Brought home to record vote? (9, two words) 4 Stars check earnest admirer (12, two words) 5 Complementary jingle outside broadcast precedes (7) 6 Aquatic Mary fails to finish crumpet (8, two words) 8 Tub to hold water? (4) 9 Fruit, round sort (6) 10 Statesman some dour henchmen backed (5) 12 Dozy coypus nestle (6, two words) 14 It's 'rescuable' reformulated (12) 19 Daydream about Asti drunk in robing-room (10)

21 Conflict with nanny hoarding old boots (9, two words)

24 Charles nobly treated radical (8) 25 Awful noise dogs college function (6)

26 Awkward choke learner left out (7)

28 Flash guy pumped admits literally zero (6)

31 What's torpedoed baronet, RN lost? (5, hyphened)

33 Effect of Community muscle (5)

Solution to 1271: 1A

1 A sugges ed PROCRASTINATION, the theme of the other unclued lights.

First prize: Miss L Watson, Elgin, Moray. Runners-up: Miss M.I. Parbeny, Pinner, Middlesex; H.O.B.

Williams, London SW3. •