A first prize of £25 and a bottle of Graham's

Malvedos 1979 Vintage Port for the first correct solution opened on 3 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 1201, The Spectator, 56 Doughty Street, London WC1N 2LL.

The unclued lights, one plural and two others hyphened, form three triads and the feature at 13D. Mad elements in the clues (i.e. anagrams and part anagrams) are not indicated. Use alphabetical priority at 10D.

Name Address

1

Dismissal? Has grim record around North (14, two words)

9 Wader I almost mistake (4)

11 A metal ore I improve (10) 14 Artful US belt (6) 17 Slang (Arabic) baffled (5) 18 Very musical beat's reduced (5) 20 Slurp, say, back in boisterous display (7) 21 Informed of old King Edward 23 Medico dico culls gasteropod (7) 24 Compiles diets (5) 25 Gaelic man's depressions (5) 27 Narrow lane into ruins (7) 30 Deprives staffs around Russia

(7)

32 Upas-trees, active strain (7)

36 Basis of claim for championship (5 38 Kn)

ight, one possessed by old style deity (6) 39 Take copy, seize as before (4) 40 Alcohol from plant disease, or tree logs (10) 41 Cycled in ancient highway (4) DOWN

1 Damage round much-used tower (5)

2 Girder's short rib (5) 4 Novel's last of many full of gossip (5) 5 Schooners, perhaps, with steamer in gales (7) 6 Oil? Rule for Provençal sauce

(7)

7 Tea in English railway diner (6) 8 Sibyls before Saints occupying thrones (9) 21 No gall is consuming Eastern eaglewood (9) 26 Compiler of data for MP, say

28 (7 Co)

mparatively sore retinas (7) 29 Art is reinforced by good bristle (6) 31 Stork, Arabian one, bearing girl (6) 33 Light up round end of cigar, and puff (5)

34 Lyric (applied to 'Theatre') (5)

35 Symbolised in print? (5)

Solution to 1198: Fill-dyke

The unc ued ights were suggested by FILL (1D, 9, 10 39 — to perform the duties of) and DYKE (14, 19, 20, 35). Extra letters spelled out: THAWING PERIOD LEAVING DYKES FULL OF SLUSH.

First prize: M.A. Trollope, Worth- ing, West Sussex. Runners-up: Nicola Fletcher, Horsmonden, Kent; E. Looby, Longbridge, Birmingham.

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