CROSSWORD

Christmas Trios by Mass

A first prize of £75, three prizes of £25 and six further prizes of The Spectator Annual (publisher Harper Collins, £17.50) will be awarded for the first correct solutions opened on 11 January. The first four prizewinners will, in addition, each receive a bottle of Graham's Malvedos 1979 Vintage Port. Entries to: Christmas Crossword, The Spectator, 56 Doughty Street, London WC1N 2LL.

ACROSS 14 One at sea, exceedingly (5) 16 Cut I made in scion (8) 19 Fish by a lake? Perfect (5) 20 Admitted swindle by reported party (9)

21 Head, hot, over-hasty (4) 24 Former golfer's birdies? (4).

28 Mounted desert troops arrived, long line (7) 31 Cedar is showing grain (4) . 32 Bird from Karsas wheeling round hill (5) 36 Spenser's noble name for herb

(7)

39 Tonne (breams) for Ivan, etc? 42 Calm — then war disrupted trade customs (11, hyphened) 45 Chatterer, this French bishop?

(5)

49 Sweet subtle bechamel's filled father (10, two words) 50 Ruthless editor axed (6) 51 Old French money to spend, Queen inlaid (5) 52 Ship, record-holder (5) 53 v. French poetry and American (6) 61 I'm left in Dahomey, stupidly (5) 66 Enthusiasm, a degree emitted by Toscanini? (5) 70 Cruel demand? Nothing to us (7) 71 Female. one desiring bustle (7) 74 Jock's cap is a cloth sieve (5) 76 Note? Two notes (4) 83 Bank charge (rand) returned (4) 84 Movable board accommodating hurried game (13) 87 Long black African animal (4) 88 Unruly, I heard, had audacity once (9) 89 Interference? I pry outside (5) 90 Clumsy walker, uncle (8) 91 Article, in frost, cracks (5) DOWN 1 Fire engulfing one 62 (5) 2 Wet-nurse in Goa, maharani's (4) 3 Coin amongst lire, mostly, for mendicant (7) 4 Old fool's into weird secret doc- trine (7) 6 Actor, not Irish, made up (8) 7 They say tint'd faded (4) 8 Afforded turned up Eastern dress (6) 9 A series of snow-ridges formed by gust, Zara (8)

10 Boring thing, our austerity (6) 18 Board, food, without question (7)

22 Loose chatter about Romania's ruler (8) 25 Provides food and indulges (6) 26 Alloy in schooner, we hear (5) 27 Chaps around Spain reared mar- gosa (4) 29 Brood, having second hock (5)

Eight lights, 37 of consecutive items, are clued by the following (singular) seasonal factors: 13 (from 38D to a 80); 33 ('of 4O', or 75, led by a 35); 38A (who lithe 72 in a 79, as in a 64); 47; 54 (at 23); 57; 62; and 65 (to the 72). The above include four phrases and four proper names; and (disregarded) two accents and four hyphens.

Name .... ................

Address ..............

30 Refuses food servants ptepared — not new (7) 32 Pipe stem leaked, ultimately plugged (8) 35 500 dwarfs endlessly dig (5) 41 Riddle about officer's beats (6) 43 Herring haul, 1,000 and rest (5) 44 Madagascan insectivore, recent in evolution (6) 46 Balance, nearly, on head (8) 48 Snake's passing, tail cut (5) 50 Intensity: plenty in Bard (7) 55 Wide taste, but no starter (5) 56 Looter's impudence over beer (8) 58 Kings, Kings turned up (5) 59 Like raw wine, crude, reduced (4) 60 Gleam enclosing King's casket (6) 63 New pence in old grey bags (5) 67 Withdraw clues 'e'd faulted (7) 68 Weighing-machine holds diffi- cult one, huge figure (8) 69 Like Arabic eskers (4) 70 Supply of dates, it's said, for dervish! (8) 73 Radical split in Keats's revised copy (7) 77 Pour forth very loudly, in English custom (6) 78 Old distiller's main branch (Ecuador) (6) 82 Note skin cut for Indian tent (5) 85 Grow rankly, as ramson (4) 86 Hound left sweet potato (4) The solution to Crossword 1087 is on page 100.

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