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, August 18 (photocopies not accepted). Today’s solution will appear next week and the winner’s name on Sunday, September 3. You must complete the iSpy box to enter. SEE BELOW THE GRID for details on how to enter – and good luck!
Across
11 Type of triangle, having two sides of equal length (9) 12 The male lead in Shakespeare’s The Taming Of The Shrew (9) 13 Large wading bird, symbol of good fortune and longevity in Japan (5) 14 A former German monetary unit worth one-hundredth of a Deutsch Mark (7) 15 Make corrections or improvements in a text by critical editing (5) 16 Nickname of Manfred von Richthofen, German World War I fighter pilot (3,5) 18 An arachnid with a small, rounded body and very long, thin legs (10) 22 Of or relating to capital letters (5,4) 24 Colin ---, the first cricketer to play 100 Test matches (7) 27 An administrative region of Ghana (7) 28 Officers attendant upon the British sovereign (9) 30 The instrument panels in cars, boats or aircraft (10) 32 Brown, crystallised cane sugar from the Caribbean (8) 35 Coniferous tree with spreading branches, needlelike evergreen leaves and barrel-shaped cones (5) 37 In fencing, a thrust or lunge with one foot advanced (7) 38 A river in North West Germany, flowing into the North Sea at Bremerhaven (5) 39 To align or position towards the East (9) 40 Central American republic which gained independence from Spain in 1821 (5,4)
Down
1 A pair of jointed appendages in lobsters and some other arthropods (7) 2 20th Century US business magnate, aviator and film director (6,6) 3 In darts, the mark or ridge on the floor behind which a player must stand to throw (4) 4 An ancient city in North West Syria (6) 5 Town in North East Surrey, home of Sandown Park racecourse (5) 6 Arising from an unforced personal impulse, voluntary or unpremeditated (11) 7 The adult male deer (4) 8 Peter Paul ---, prolific Flemish Baroque painter (6) 9 Brake ---, the curved metal casting to which the brake lining is riveted in a drum brake (4) 10 A large Ferris wheel located on the South bank of the River Thames in Westminster, erected in 1999 (6,3) 17 Northern Hemisphere tree with leaves that quiver in the wind (5) 19 In the Church of England, a clergyman appointed to act as priest of a parish (5) 20 The ability to shoot accurately (12) 21 A dealer in small articles for sewing, such as buttons, zips and ribbons (11) 23 An Indian condiment of finely chopped cucumber and mint in yogurt, served with curries (5) 25 E.B. ---, American writer whose works included the children’s novel Charlotte’s Web (5) 26 Nocturnal terrestrial marsupial of Australia and New Guinea (9) 29 Roman emperor who ordered the building of a wall across North Britain (7) 31 --- Strait, a sea channel between Alaska and Russia (6) 33 Concern for one’s own interests and welfare (6) 34 Mr Fitzwilliam ---, hero of Jane Austen’s Pride And Prejudice (5) 36 --- Éireann, the lower chamber of the Irish parliament (4) 37 Edith ---, 20th Century French singer and national icon famous for singing Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien (4) 38 A red raised mark left on the skin by a blow (4)