The unclued lights are of a kind.

Across

9 Go in with force, showing initiative (10)
14 Cast is enormous, but not good (3)
16 China’s new restrictive measures (6)
17 Girl showing leg in meadow (5)
18 Best buddies regularly skipped study (5)
20 Mites and ticks from a vehicle by Cretan mountain (7)
22 Best arrangement is to have a meal in home (7)
24 Craftsman is wearing plaid, though topless (7)
25 Keel that’s empty sunk with mine (5)
26 Old Thai coin given a soft touch, we hear (5)
28 Won’t carve the bird? Come, come! (7, two words)
31 Racehorse stumbles, he is off to Irish town (7)
33 Frugally supplied to English duke in trouble (7, two words)
37 Big apple – the Queen gets one in Kenyan town (5)
38 Spin is turning over wicket on both sides (5)
39 Article, say, to intend missing source of sea (6)
40 Holy books brought up to enshrine a philosophy system (3)
41 Go to bars and get high along these lines (10, two words)
42 Carbon absorption is not everything (6)

Down

1 Giving Tom a ring is a risky venture (13, three words)
2 Diminutive cabinet minister runs half-marathon (5, two abbrevs)
3 Make new cart with ease, so to speak (6)
4 Corsair loses head, furious (5)
6 Puts back in the oven – but there’s a difficulty (7)
7 Inflammation left one in situ, being withdrawn (6)
8 Narrow road in two states (4)
10 Reptile, one suitable for children, in good stories (6)
11 Libertine breaking up demonstration in African city (9)
12 I, a fearless gal developed in reality (13, four words)
15 State of chaos in a Mediterranean port (7)
19 Good man, worn out, was noncommittal (9)
29 Oily liquid, etc, one spilled (6)
32 Parisian is accepted by fixed band of players (6)
34 Born to make fun of drug incentive (5)
35 Fiddle with jacket removed after a dip? (5)

A first prize of £30 for the first correct solution opened on 7 December. There are two runners-up prizes of £20. Please scan or photograph entries and email them (including the crossword number in the subject field) to crosswords@spectator.co.uk – the dictionary prize is not available. We will revert to postal entries when things are normal again. Please allow six weeks for prize delivery.