A first prize of £20 and a bottle of Graham's

Malvedos 1979 Vintage Port for the first correct solution opened on 5 April, 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 1101, The Spectator, 56 Doughty Street, London WCIN 2LL.

Two of the unclued lights form an expression associated with the other seven (of which one is a phrase and one is plural).

Name Address Dictionary prizes are sent out by the 'Post-a-Book' service. ACROSS

1 They reduce thickness, barbers (8)

12 Rank bread (5) 14 A harp redrawn by the Spanish painter (7) 16 Mark gravity in offence (4) 17 Beasts of burden, firm in step (5) 18 Zero, zero's cutting Breton in fur (6) 22 Like hair trim (as they say)? I do, permed (8) 23 Fiddle called in by old king, one of a group (7)

24 Jocks lively (nothing in bottle!) (6)

25 Deciphered note by doctor in Bury? (6) 27 Grease ready: it smooths edges of metal (7, hyphened) 29 How Mac staggers from reels, after second (8) 33 Decree, fixed one (6) 34 River has pale fish in Scotland 35 icture card, cut, is a plant! (4) 38 Shakespeare's jog-trot sounds excessive (5) 39 Chap with uncertain future, car producer (12) 40 Stitched up broadcast for listen- ers (4) 41 Counterfeit, felt coin bend (8)

DOWN

1 Dismantled old stone castle (6)

2 Dog food (4) 3 Slater organised Russian work- ers' guilds (6)

4 Letter from Eastern saint in heap (7)

6 Tin-cans made of tin (7)

8 Ammoniac plant in Ohio cabin, we hear (5)

9 One speculating with the in- crease in gold (9) 10 Greeted old Henry's editor (6) 19 Adapted for walking in soil? Gear's maybe about right (10) 21 Writer and those holding uni- versity flat . . . (9)

26 . . . make flat fit to dine in (7, two words)

28 Impress? A measure with RN? (7) 29 Putrefaction from venomous snake on isle (6) 30 Albanian has a right odd aunt (6) 32 Stave, article in sunken wreck- age (5

36 Orcadi)

an hut's almost awry, love (4)

Solution to 1098: Jac

Four words with/without JAC sug- gested pairs of lights — viz. (Jac)ana = 4A swamp bird (v. Chambers)/ 40 table-talk; (Jac)karoo = 13 learner/ 12 plateau; (Jac)ket = 31 tuxedo/22 carrion; (Jac)queries = 39 rebellions/10 question-marks.

First prize: N. Mendoza, London SW 11; Runners-up: R. R. Tyrer, Exeter; Paul Dunn, Sevenoaks, Kent.