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, June 1 (photocopies not accepted). Today’s solution will appear next week and the winner’s name on Sunday, June 17. You must complete the iSpy box to enter. SEE BELOW THE GRID for details on how to enter – and good luck!
Across
1 A county of Central England, the birthplace of Shakespeare (12) 8 Fullness or intensity of tone or sound (6) 11 Matter that settles to the bottom of a liquid (8) 12 Large American feline mammals with plain, greyish-brown coats and long tails (5) 13 ––– Korbut, Soviet-born gymnast who won three gold medals and one silver at the 1972 Munich Olympics (4) 14 Another name for a continental quilt (5) 15 Annual steeplechase run since 1839, with a course of two laps of 16 fences (5,8) 17 German physicist who first formulated quantum theory, winner of the 1918 Nobel Prize in Physics (3,6) 19 Smooth, hard, yellow or whitish cheese which shares its name with a North Somerset village (7) 23 The hooded habit of a monk (4) 24 People who take part in illegal activity (9) 25 A spread of very finely minced liver or poultry, often served as an hors d’oeuvre (4) 26 The smallest planet in the Solar System and the nearest to the sun (7) 28 ––– nut, the seed of an Australian tree with small white flowers (9) 31 Hollywood child star of the 1930s, who later became a US Ambassador (7,6) 34 Nikolai –––, 19th Century Russian novelist and dramatist (5) 36 Large, yellow-skinned citrus fruit of the Caribbean, a cross between a tangerine and a grapefruit (4) 37 In astrology, the sixth sign of the zodiac (5) 38 Small, round, boneless slice of lamb from the loin (8) 39 Devices for trapping birds and small animals (6) 40 The nature of a system where people are ranked according to their importance (12)
Down
2 A broad street, often lined with trees (6) 3 London street linking Trafalgar Square to the Houses of Parliament (9) 4 Singer and actress who won the Best Actress Oscar for her role in the 1987 film Moonstruck (4) 5 An ancient Roman festival celebrated in December (10) 6 In judo or karate, a winning point awarded for a perfectly executed technique (5) 7 The stoat in northern regions, where it has a white winter coat with a black-tipped tail (6) 8 An act of going to see a person or place as a guest (5) 9 ––– I, Holy Roman Emperor 1658-1705 (7) 10 The charter granted by King John at Runnymede in 1215 (5,5) 16 Sean –––, American political aide, White House Press Secretary under Donald Trump from January to July 2017 (6) 18 The most populous country in the world (5) 20 A member of any of several light cavalry regiments in European armies, renowned for their elegant dress (6) 21 The capital city of Denmark (10) 22 Port in West Morocco on the Atlantic, the country’s largest city (10) 25 Jewish-Italian chemist, Holocaust survivor and author best known for the work If This Is A Man (5,4) 27 French jewellery and watch company founded in Paris in 1847 (7) 29 Carbohydrate found in foods such as bread, potatoes and rice (6) 30 The heroine of Shakespeare’s The Merchant Of Venice (6) 32 The edge of a roof that meets or projects beyond the wall (5) 33 Henry –––, 20th Century British sculptor known for his monumental organic sculptures (5) 35 A flat, circular plate (4)