After thematic 32 a 5 of 12 form the other unclued lights of which only one is a real word.
Across
10 Less than colossal choir seize Worms (10, hyphened)
14 Death of Grendel (3)
16 Sewer trimmed outer garment roughly (6)
17 Destroy with top armour (5)
20 Decamping sons bounding along (7)
22 Convoluted legal document Scots challenge (7)
24 Several coaches plus royal coach (7)
25 A broken round metal plate (5)
26 Expectant pastor slips in glamour girl (5, two words)
28 Be quiet having extreme problem talking (7)
31 Otto (maybe) and restless Chris (almost) like Texas (7, hyphened)
33 One trapping fish in Turkey (7)
38 Soprano troubles fans (5)
39 Poor department’s ropy, shunning work (6)
40 Stud travels about loveless (3)
41 Carbonize creatinine experimentally (10)
42 Part of shoe for westward walk (6)
43 Doc beginning to ingest beautiful sausage (8)
Down
1 Model awaits special hat, cowl and patterned jerkin (14, two words)
2 Nasty Amerind getting soft … (5)
4 … see us united over drink (5)
6 Fish (not par) repopulate streams (7)
7 Disastrous student riot needles upset townie (6)
8 Shrewd Mrs Mop cycles (4)
9 Expansionist policy enchants dragon rampaging (14, three words)
11 Bovine Ainslie, not active, put on inches? (6)
13 Amulet from China with classy rim absent (8)
15 Matisse developed and refined irony (7)
19 I wrestle dodgy rustler pinching gee-gee (9)
21 Cloudiness a fish cake lifted (8)
23 Biased priest ignored mechanic (7)
29 I’m on the road circling river and desert (6)
30 I don’t understand kinetic energy’s necessity (6)
34 Jack cages irrational animal (5)
35 Very important and very Caledonian chariots (5)
36 Musical piece beginner fluffed in middle section (4)
A first prize of £30 for the first correct solution opened on 17 September. There are two runners-up prizes of £20 (or, for UK solvers, the latest edition of The Chambers Dictionary — ring the word ‘Dictionary’). Entries to: Crossword 2078, The Spectator, 22 Old Queen Street, London SW1H 9HP. Please allow six weeks for prize delivery.
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