CROSSWORD

1279: Heads will roll by Mass A first prize of £25 and a bottle of Graham's Late Bottled Vintage 1990 Port for the first correct solution opened on 7 October, with two runners-up prizes of £15 (or, for UK solvers, the Chambers Dictionary – ring the word `Dictionary'). Entries to: Crossword 1279, The Spectator, 56 Doughty Street, London WC1N 2LL.

Twenty radial lights read from rim to centre, 20 vice versa. Five theme words in the circuit next to the outer one, and one word in the innermost circuit, all roll clockwise.

Name Address RADIALS (6)

1 Renounce rubbish

2 Foreman's blunder with rand 3 Deny backing for the general, in part 4 Old coin from Turkey with Queen inlaid

5 I misdo unusual dialects

6 Wealthy one's gold coins 7 Wild sheep, Arabic, half Galician 8 Form of Alpine language 9 University: one in Italy's great for Magyar

10 Frank face of stamp — foreign, we hear

11 Head's facing objection (only locally) 12 Billion in generous swindle 13 Clots making surly points 14 Fabulous Persian bird in rugs I'm weaving

15 Progress is good — plenty in Scotland

16 Crawl from wood by lake 17 Heartless bargemen, scampers 18 Vegetable, chewy stuff in general 19 Butter-fish seen from wale 20 Mildness let in New Year 21 Spain pays back regard 22 Fly, note, eating plants 23 Tricky, the Spanish angle 24 Lottery's rubbish 25 Sacristan's ridge-like fold 26 Saint's day, one after end of June in index 27 Wrangle with guy, far out 28 A hopeful German aboard merchant ship 29 Teased (raised a ridge) 30 Live around in gloomy land 31 Edward's about to annoy and mock

32 Precluded from pub,

shamefaced 33 Clawlike ornament, e.g., curled round repeated figure 34 Produce a film illusion 35, Natural green edging square

36 Indicate English name's short 37 Compassionate one makes appeal with outward support

38 Old canon's escort, it's said 39 Flatter with bachelor talk 40 Sober in enclosure with Scotch? Soaked

Solution to 1276: Over to you

The other unclued lights were balls bowled in cricket, forming a possible over to the player ON STRIKE (23) at the POPPING-CREASE (10).

First prize: S.J. Tozer, London W2. Runners-up: T.R. Burch, Burgh Heath, Surrey; Steve Clarkson, Col- chester, Essex.