THE PRIZE CROSSWORD

There’s an amazing €2,000 prize for the first correct solution drawn at random in our general knowledge Prize Crossword. Entries must arrive by Friday, September 2 (photocopies not accepted). Today’s solution will appear next week and the winner’s name on Sunday, September 18. You must complete the iSpy box to enter. SEE BELOW THE GRID for details on how to enter – and good luck! Across 1 In biology, a small, freefloating cell, particularly a blood cell (9) 6 Ethiopian empire in existence from the 12th Century until a coup d’état in 1974 (9) 11 The Fall And Rise Of Reginald –––, a David Nobbs novel and Leonard Rossiter sitcom (6) 12 St ––– and Nevis, country in the Leeward Islands in the West Indies (5) 14 Angela –––, newsreader and Top Gear presenter who famously danced on the 1976 Morecambe And Wise Christmas Show (6) 15 Battle of –––, English Civil War engagement that took place on June 14, 1645 (6) 16 Castle in Arthurian legend, also a nickname for the Kennedy Administration (7) 17 Domed or vaulted semicircular recess at the east end of a church (4) 18 Folk tale also called The Little Glass Slipper (10) 22 Merseyside town whose rugby league team plays at Langtree Park (2,6) 24 TV sitcom written by and starring Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson (6) 26 Russian President before and after Dmitry Medvedev (5) 27 Italian Fascist Party’s title for its leader Benito Mussolini (2,4) 28 Title of a series of video games featuring the characters Cole MacGrath and Delsin Rowe (8) 29 Jukebox musical from 2006 featuring 1980s music from bands such as Styx and Journey (4,2,4) 31 Elisabeth –––, actress in The Karate Kid and Leaving Las Vegas (4) 33 Absence of belief in the existence of deities (7) 36 River that flows through the centre of Dublin (6) 38 Land of five rivers, a region in North India and East Pakistan (6) 39 Condition in chess when a player’s king is under threat of capture on their opponent’s next turn (5) 40 In ancient Rome and Greece, a portico with a continuous bench for holding discussions (6) 41 Political doctrine espoused by the 40th President of the United States (9) 42 Love –––, Walter Greenwood’s 1933 novel about workingclass poverty in the North of England (2,3,4) Down 2 24th letter of the Greek alphabet (5) 3 Meteor in the annual shower associated with the comet Swift-Tuttle (7) 4 ––– Liston, boxer who became world heavyweight champion in 1962 (5) 5 John –––, former professional goalkeeper with Leeds United and Arsenal (5) 7 ––– Rathbone, actor who played Sherlock Holmes in a series of films with Nigel Bruce as Watson (5) 8 Elongated luxury car (7,4) 9 Decorated with 23 (9) 10 The –––, a nickname for West Ham United FC (5) 13 Cyndi Lauper single released from her 1983 album She’s So Unusual (4,5,4) 19 Winning point awarded for a perfectly executed technique in judo and karate (5) 20 ––– dating, means of putting an age to an object containing organic material (11) 21 Night Of The –––, DeForest Kelley science fiction film featuring mutated rabbits (5) 22 Blue hedgehog in a series of video games, the first of which came out in 1991 (5) 23 Internal layer of the shells in some molluscs (5) 25 Golf trophy presented to the winner of The Open Championship (6,3) 30 The home ground of Liverpool FC since their formation in 1892 (7) 32 Gregory –––, medic played by Hugh Laurie on TV from 2004-12 (5) 34 Bill –––, controversial American stand-up comedian who died aged 32 in 1994 (5) 35 The –––, Dan Dare’s arch-enemy in Frank Hampson’s comic strip (5) 36 Any annelid worm of the class Hirudinea that feeds on the blood of other creatures (5) 37 The Weasley family’s owl in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series (5)