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, February 23 (photocopies not accepted). Today’s solution will appear next week and the winner’s name on Sunday, March 4. You must complete the iSpy box to enter. SEE BELOW THE GRID for details on how to enter – and good luck!

Across

10 To scrape away or wear down by friction (6)

11 American author whose works included the 1969 novel Slaughterhouse-Five (4,8)

12 The dried ripe flowers of a climbing plant, used to give a bitter taste to beer (4)

13 Arthur –––, British Prime Minister 1902-1905 (7)

14 A sausage, especially a frankfurter, served in a long roll (3,3)

15 ––– soldier, a nickname given to 19th Century US cavalrymen fighting on the frontier (7)

16 Self-propelled engines driven by steam, electricity or diesel power and used for drawing trains along railway tracks (11)

20 William –––, a folk hero of Switzerland, the subject of an opera by Rossini (4)

21 A hard, pale yellow cheese often used in fondues (7)

22 Ian –––, English writer whose novels include Amsterdam and Atonement (6)

23 The experience of perceiving a new situation as if it had occurred before (4,2)

25 Knights –––, Catholic military order linked to the Crusades in the 12th Century (7)

27 A member of any of the ancient peoples who lived in Britain North of the Forth and Clyde (4)

28 A city in West Central Russia, on the River Ob, the largest city in Siberia (11) 29 ––– Valentino, Italianborn silent-movie actor who starred in films including The Sheik (7)

32 Sleeveless jerkin, open at the sides with a hole for the head (6)

35 In the New Testament, the brother of Mary and Martha, whom Jesus restored to life (7) 36 In golf, a stroke played on the green to roll the ball into or near the hole (4)

37 A black, tropical American bird with a large overhanging crest and a long wattle (12)

38 A strip or cube of fat or bacon (6)

Down

1 The lower limit of the thermodynamic temperature scale (8,4)

2 An opera in three acts by Richard Wagner, based on a 13th Century poem about an Arthurian knight (8)

3 Rodent with long hind feet adapted to the arid regions of Asia and Africa (6)

4 The adult leader of a pack of Cub Scouts (5) 5 A wood preservative prepared from coal tar (8)

6 Welsh composer, singer and actor whose songs included Keep The Home Fires Burning (4,7) 7 Ancient Egyptian hieroglyph symbolising life (4)

8 Princess ––– of York, the eldest daughter of Prince Andrew (8)

9 The official unit of currency of Portugal (4) 17 An ear-shaped edible mollusc common in the Channel Islands (5)

18 The act of freeing or state of being freed (12)

19 A series of children’s books by English author Richmal Crompton (4,7)

21 Antoni –––, Spanish architect noted for his church of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona (5) 24 Amedeo –––, Italian physicist who was noted for his work on gases (8)

26 Relating to an era of geological time that began with the Triassic period and lasted until the end of the Cretaceous period (8)

27 The sorcerer protagonist of Shakespeare’s The Tempest (8)

30 Legendary sainted British princess said to have been martyred by the Huns at Cologne (6)

31 A group of lions (5)

33 Charitable donations of money or goods to the poor or needy (4)

34 Jim –––, actor known for his appearances in the Carry On films (4)