WIN €2,000 THE PRIZE CROSSWORD
There’s an amazing €2,000 prize for the first correct solution drawn at random in our general knowledge Prize Crossword. Entry deadlines have been extended by one week to avoid postal disruption and must arrive by Friday, January 13 (photocopies not accepted). Today’s solution will appear on January 15 and the winner’s name on Sunday, January 29. You must complete the iSpy box to enter. SEE BELOW THE GRID for details on how to enter – and good luck!
ACROSS
11 1885 comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan set in Japan (3,6) 12 In Greek myths, the goddess of love and beauty (9) 13 An alarm or warning (5) 14 County of North West England, the county town of which is Carlisle (7) 15 Evergreen shrub with yellow flowers and thick green spines (5) 16 Surgical knives with short thin blades (8) 18 Beryl ---, English novelist who was nominated for the Booker Prize five times, including for 1998’s Master Georgie (10) 22 A long and complicated procedure (9) 24 A new production of a stage play that has not been recently performed (7) 27 North East European republic on the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic which became independent in 1991 (7) 28 Land or property held under a contract for a specified period (9) 30 Charles Dickens novel featuring Esther Summerson and John Jarndyce (5,5) 32 A fighting axe, with a stone or iron head, used by Native Americans (8) 35 An open sore that heals very slowly (5) 37 A small, dried seedless grape, used in baking (7) 38 A wickerwork trap for catching lobsters, etc. (5) 39 --- --- de Paris, Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité, Paris (5,4) 40 William Ewart ---, British Liberal statesman who served as Prime Minister four times in the 19th Century (9)
DOWN
1 Johann --- II, Austrian composer known as ‘The Waltz King’ (7) 2 Belgian surrealist artist whose works included The Son Of Man (4,8) 3 William ---, the 1st Earl of Chatham, a British Whig statesman who was Prime Minister 1766-68 (4) 4 The derived SI unit of pressure, named after a French physicist (6) 5 A river in Northern France; the scene of heavy fighting in World War I (5) 6 The part of a road along which traffic passes in one direction only (11) 7 An African tree whose oily seeds yield a white butter-like fat, used in food, cosmetics, etc. (4) 8 Large marine eel known to grown up to a length of six feet (6) 9 A structure with a deck that is built out over water (4) 10 American entertainer known for starring in musical films including 1952’s Singin’ In The Rain (4,5) 17 Augustus ---, 19th Century English architect who designed much of the interior of the Palace of Westminster (5) 19 Cordlike bundle of fibres which conducts sensory or motor impulses between the brain or spinal cord and another part of the body (5) 20 Leader of the British Conservative Party 20052016 (5,7) 21 In North American baseball, a best-of-seven playoff between the two winning teams in the major leagues (5,6) 23 The ---, a mission in San Antonio, Texas, the site of a siege and massacre in 1836 (5) 25 Genus of flowering plants to which the pansy belongs (5) 26 The capital of the Australian state of Victoria (9) 29 A small frying pan (7) 31 The edible central part of a seed, nut or fruit within the shell or stone (6) 33 An expenditure of money, effort, etc. (6) 34 A Latin American dance characterised by long, gliding steps and sudden pauses (5) 36 Marcus Porcius ---, Roman statesman and writer noted for his opposition to Carthage (4) 37 Burrowing bivalve mollusc, many species of which are edible (4) 38 A blunt weapon, often made of hard rubber; bludgeon (4)