2643: Word-building

The unclued lights may be arranged to form a chain of words from three to eleven letters in length, each one being an anagram of its predecessor and one additional letter. One of these lights is hyphened. Elsewhere ignore an acute accent.

Across

1    Radio show for impressionists no longer in the belfry (4,7)

11    Singer mirroring resounding soccer victory (6)

13    Delving into information, understands about saving (4,3)

15    Gang featured in Panama fiasco (5)

16    Small growth on head trimmed (5)

17    Showy decoration’s not new (6)

18    Disinclined to move back from centre, nightly (5)

21    Party craving senior member (5)

22    Mark follows sailor not to vote (7)

27    Australia tried enthusiastically removing England’s openers – harsh! (7)

29    European birds in the housetops? (5)

30    Viking, maybe, at the fridge? (6)

32    Don’t tell the truth about, say, feudal lord (5)

34    Sailing holiday for the staff, we hear? (6)

36    Acts like Tom or diarist, we hear (5)

38    Obvious seeing one duke during the happening (7)

39    Lengths of rulers (6)

40    Leonardo’s time (3)

Down

2    Obscure busts are broken (8)

3    They controlled cooking the roasts (9)

4    More than one singer in Berkeley Square’s Hospitals (12)

6    Head of security has to remove surveillance operation (5-3)

7    Gather popular umpire is upset (5)

8    Some miss Cameron (Con) (4)

9    Splash paint on bunk – gold and black (6)

10    Fancy suite revealing fancy cases (5)

12    German lad who’s watching his weight (6)

14    Writers spring over fences (8,4)

19    Sent 12 out to get involved (10)

23    Seabird circling key tropical plant (4,4)

25    Area in London getting better, hard to leave (6)

26    About one, delivers a flower (7)

28    Sappers, posted, feel aggrieved outside of 24 (6)

31    Conservative avoiding dirty red (5)

33    Dramatist featured in Swinburne’s biography, on reflection (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 18 March. Please scan or photograph entries and email them (including the crossword number in the subject field) to crosswords@spectator.co.uk,