LIFE #EROSS
1 Fret about fixing toy (11,
two words)
11 Rook in spot with energy
in attacking position (6)
13 Change in Romeo –
product of bonding action?
(7)
15 Rodents, when after cover,
retreating (5)
16 Wise to follow uniform
practice (5)
17 Improvement in part for all
to see in vessel (6)
18 Leader of England in
cricket? He was (5)
20 Rib revolutionary about
breaking rule (6)
21 Chilli pepper used in
Mexican chowder (5)
22 Skeletal structure in some
disorder (7)
27 Transfer stopped by bank
disregarding a language (7)
29 Fabric expert’s latest
choice (5)
30 Cop has broken seals (6)
32 Hard governor, not an
Armenian (5)
34 Run away without date (6)
36 Pause in front of
monument in capital (5)
38 Moved home, summoned
(7)
39 They leave without playing
tune (6)
40 Knife held back (3)&OVN
1 Climbing peaks without
medium drugs (10)
2 Jesuit ordered a painting?
No pressure (8)5 Hesitation after tense start
(7)
6 Pacifist awfully nice during
summit (8)
8 Stop wanting constant
comfort (4)
9 Stratagem concerning
ticket (6)
10 Pull up after second
obstacle on ski slope (5)
14 Doctor brings matron,
highly energetic (12)
19 Crone fashioned new straw
figure (10, hyphened)
21 Tuberous plant from
Arkansas worthless with
tea (9)
23 Thankful, having raised
cover in thatching (8)
24 Lovers, longer in loft,
caught out (8)
25 Criminal we hail for some
time (6)
26 Insects spring up around
hydrant (7)
28 Observed confusion in
scattering of seed (6)
31 Refined man succeeded
baron (5)
35 Map showing delta south
of estate? (4)A first prize of £30 for the first
correct solution opened on 26
February. There are two runners-
up prizes of £20. (UK solvers
can choose to receive the latest
edition of the Chambers
dictionary instead of cash —
ring the word ‘dictionary’.)
Entries to: Crossword 2345,
The Spectator, 22 Old Queen
Street, London SW1H 9HP.
Please allow six weeks for
prize delivery.Crossword
2345:
Counterclaim
by Columba
May fill the royal mould; perchance o’er time
Be blest with issue as are Kate and Wills.
Can she survive the Windsor dynasty,
This star celestial, perchance replace,
With dignity, another deity,
The fair Diana, goddess of the chase?
Thy union blest with due solemnity,
Received with public zeal, thou can’st repay
The nation’s loyalty, should thou decree
Through all the realm a national holiday.
Sylvia Fairley/John Dryden
Rise, patriotic hearts! Let proud eyes sparkle
At nature’s boon of loveliness, Miss Markle.
Pallid she may not be, but in her veins
Run rich and various ancestral strains.
Once wed already, granted, yet her state
Must be regarded as inviolate,
As chaste as is the dawn that spreads with light
The dewy pastures drowned in shade by night
And cleans with moral purpose everything,
Abundant with renewal, like the Spring.
As for Prince Harry, what churl would deny
His manly virtues who has seen him fly
Beneath the whirling blades, faint-hearted not,
This paragon by royal loins begot,
Already a commander of renown
And fifth in line to wear the British crown.
Basil Ransome-Davies/Alfred Austin
When Harry first announced his choice
And asked the nation to rejoice,
A noble lady rose to voice
A fear for Camelot.
‘To taint our culture is a sin.
It’s not the colour of her skin,
But — really! — an Amurikin?’
Asked Lady Whoozeegot.
‘Divorced? An actress?’ Bold, unhushed
She railed, then paused and faltered, crushed,
For other ladies deeply blushed.
How changed was Camelot!
Her questioning she set aside.
‘She’ll make a truly lovely bride!’
She didn’t sound the least bit snide,
The Lady Whoozeegot.
Max Gutmann/Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Drabs and dullards, go away,
For this is Harry’s wedding day
(And that, of course, of Meghan Markle).
I shall laud, with odes monarchal,
Meg and Harry’s wedding day.
(Were Dryden here, no doubt he’d say
‘Shadwellian tautology!’
But who’s the Poet Laureate? Me!
And frankly, I don’t care a fig
For what he thinks, that stuffy prig.)
Returning to the matter prime,
I’m here to celebrate in rhyme
The day that — let my poem sparkle! —
Harry marries Meghan Markle.
None shall mar this happy day,
So, drabs and dullards, go away!
Brian Allgar/Thomas Shadwell
NO. 3037: FROM A TO B
You are invited take a song by Abba or the
Beatles (please specify) and rewrite the lyr-
ics as a sonnet. Email entries to lucy@specta-
tor.co.uk by midday on 21 February, please.
1234567891011 1213 14 151617 18 1920 2122 23 2425 26 27 2829 30 3132 33 3435 3637 383940 4151.76+1061 &'%14#6+8'The key terms are ART NOUVEAU (12) and
JUGENDSTIL (19). One indicates 24 and 28D, and the
other can be divided into JUG (defining 14 and 21),
ENDS (31 and 41) and TIL (4 and 22).(KRSěPRKYG John Kitchen, Breachwood Green, Herts
4TNNGRSTP P.D.H. Riddell, London SE23;
Ferdinand Dobbs, Tilston, Malpas, Cheshire0CMG#FFRGSS'MCKĚThe first line of a 4 (two words)
consists of 7A and the puzzle’s
3 41; the second line is 7D 12
33 37 (six words in total). Cryp-
tic indications in seven clues
are incomplete; in each case,
the answer is formed when the
indicated part has 12 33.