The unclued lights (one hyphened and plural, and another in the past tense) are of a kind, all verifiable as such in Chambers, most of them on a specific page.

        Across

   1    One son half-naked, at first, during old broadcast (12)

10    Bird losing head and part of foot (4)

12    Series of files from Game on BBC once (10)

14    Return of low relative from abroad (3)

17    Fruit found when Christmas in over, Frenchman penned (5)

26    Find fault with husband and unnamed folk’s cellular radios (3,6)

27    Bess and Isaac worked out geometrical co-ordinates (9)

29    Craftsman for two generations (5)

31    Stage of journey in tea wagon in Russia (6)

34    Exam result, we’re told, was looking old (6)

36    Two drugs for leading actress (7)

38    Main target, regularly, for an aspiring cleric? (5)

39    ‘New Deal’ with parliamentary assistant in city (8)

40    Aussies regularly take drugs (3)

41    Material dries white, sadly (5,5)

42    Neat cut (4)

         Down

   2    Like a Turin-Bern trip? (10)

   4    Involved oneself endlessly in German trade fair (5)

   5    Patients treated outside hospital way back when (2,3,4)

   6    Variety of ivy from state with another name cut short (6)

   7    Recently turned up, adopting one Amazon business, say (5)

   8    Record sleeve’s last in box (4)

   9    Land initially seen as useless (6,6)

11    Flatten lint pad (8)

16    President at furniture company dropped one (3)

19    Preparing for plastering on reef in Gabon (6)

20    Produced a sound copy (6)

23    Wild notion of wild aide? (5,4)

25    Free from fine nut-tree, felled (8)

28    Tree is beginning to topple – one on volcano (2,5)

30    Pants are not highly decorated (6)

32    Primitive plough in circular ditch (3)

33    Old motto – English or not (5)

35    Kuwaiti prince backing some agreement (5)

37    Nobleman nearly at the centre (4)

Download a printable version here.

A first prize of £30 and two runners-up prizes of £20 for the first correct solutions opened on 13 October. 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 2628, The Spectator, 22 Old Queen Street, London SW1H 9HP. Please allow six weeks for prize delivery.

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