Eight unclued lights can be followed by the same word. Their unchecked letters can be arranged to spell out ‘QUALIFY A REVUE’.

Across

1    President cut short time in bathroom facility (5)

4    Order pie and mash with south-eastern accent (9)

10    Tired rut at sports ground (10)

11    Manual exercises for old girl (6)

12    Small northern men with beards regularly make tiresome bedfellows (7)

14    Attempt to grab wings of partridge using two feet (5)

16    University dons soon reviewed length of part of speech (6)

22    Finally buy spuds – they appear annually (8)

23    Husband edges away from jolly terse shouts (7)

25    Foot first of bills after one in the morning (4)

27    Curve of old stringed instrument at back of modern car (7)

29    Tortilla cooked on the shore (8)

32    Authorises some nuclear subs (6)

34    Lines snorted by really silly person (5)

36    Giant African termite beginning to alarm English setters (7)

37    Neuter and trim dog for Charlie (6)

38    Realised odours tend to disperse (10)

39    Fruit supplier left mango’s skin in dish (5,4)

Down

1    Bald, rich eccentric embracing fashionable invention (10)

2    Single girl, exhausted, loves protection from the cold (5)

4    Bring up report about independent internet seller (1-6)

5    Potato salad? If it can go wrong, it will (7,3)

6    Spooner’s outlawed witch as an accessory (7)

7    Bird ultimately represents the Ireland of poets (5)

8    Napkin of King Edward VI seized by dog briefly (9)

15    Way to entice a bishop into bed (6)

17    Star and goddess take drugs after mild stimulant (10)

18    Bones lie under loam and sand initially (7)

19    Analysis fools people in centre of Boston (10)

20    Jointly put up money for nice can of nuts (9)

21    Recall gracious, welcoming city on the rise (6)

26    Fuel unrest in Beirut over spy (7)

28    Slavic entertainment enthrals Portuguese playwright (7)

30    Thief returned to provide new equipment (6)

31    Plain useless Nationalist leaving Conwy resort (5)

33    About to cross difficult channel on moon (5)

Download a printable version here.

A first prize of £30 and two runners-up prizes of £20 for the first correct solutions opened on 5 June. Please scan or photograph entries and email them (including the crossword number in the subject field) to crosswords@spectator.co.uk, or post to: Crossword 2605, The Spectator, 22 Old Queen Street, London SW1H 9HP. Please allow six weeks for prize delivery.

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