CROSSWORD
A first prize of £25 and a bottle of Graham's Late Bottled Vintage 1990 Port for the first correct solution opened on 11 November, 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 1284, The Spectator, 56 Doughty Street, London WC1N 2LL.
The unclued lights (five of two words , individually or as a trio or a quintet, are of a kind. Ignore two apostrophes and an exclama- tion mark.
Name Address ACROSS 4 Aquatic plant with any old title (9, hyphened) 12 Support that's available in an emergency (7, two words) 14 Basket-maker would be more promising if right on top (5) 15 Poor homes are a draw on board (5) 16 More than one creature has inner desire (6) 22 Mid-point of favoured resort (8) 23 Churchgoer (graduate) takes exercise first (7) 25 Units heading east ransacked guerrillas' stronghold (4) 27 Creature with one set of books to carry (7) 32 Plans to return dry painting (6) 34 Foundation degrees one's following (5) 35 Island without a party for birds (5) 36 Turning a page on about a culmination (7) 37 An alto disturbed by such modern music (6) 39 Slut and strikebreaker by church in valley (9) 40 Measure out bread (5) DOWN 1 Kind wish for the whole city square (10, three words) 2 Scots carefully suggest boisterous party (5) 3 Pitiful, that is, turning up in step (6)
4 Chasms where young donkeys lose their heads (7) 5 He calls in again about nun (10)
6 Drunken sot with wealthy bird
(7)
7 Ransacks county (5) 15 English stews served as desserts (6) 17 Apt description of natural men, maybe (10) 18 Tape strewn on one not fighting (7, two words) 20 A mushroom wrapped in paler sort of delicate material (9, hyphened) 21 Crosses out 'grilse' (6) 26 Group having time during quiet for just this? (7) 28 Northern Ballet arranged sport
(7)
30 Advantage given by 4 divided by (1 + 5) (6) 33 Artfully avoid notice during the evening (5)
Solution to 1281: Endeavours
The unclued lights, 'n the combina- tions 35 4, 44 25, 20 9, 38 1, and 8 3 20, yielded the titles of Colin Dexter novels featuring INSPECTOR MORSE.
First prize; Beatrix Mootham, Teddington, Middlesex. Runners-up: Robin Vick, Harrow-on-the-Hill; Paul F. Henderson, London E17.
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