THE PRIZE CROSSWORD
WIN €2,000
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 8 (photocopies not accepted). Today’s solution will appear next week and the winner’s name on Sunday, Febraury 24. You must complete the iSpy box to enter. SEE BELOW THE GRID for details on how to enter – and good luck!
Across
1 Province of Western Canada, the capital of which is Regina (12) 8 Style of architecture and decoration that originated in 18th Century France (6) 11 Occurring in, or referring to, the holy book of Christianity (8) 12 Small, terrestrial lizard with adhesive toes, found in warm regions (5) 13 Bluefin –––, globally endangered marine species (4) 14 Infant marsupials, especially kangaroos (5) 15 The London street which contains the official residences of the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer (7,6) 17 Members or supporters of the older of the two major US political parties (9) 19 See 30 Down 23 A heavy hand tool with a steel cutting blade attached to a wooden handle (4) 24 A burial vault, tomb or grave (9) 25 A stopper, especially of cork or rubber (4) 26 Sir Michael –––, 20th Century English composer of the oratorio A Child Of Our Time (7) 28 A narrow strip of land projecting into a sea or lake from the mainland (9) 31 A person who practises unarmed combat such as judo or karate (7,6)
34 and 37 British boxer who won the WBC heavyweight championship in 1995 (5,5) 36 A shower or storm of small pellets of ice (4) 37 See 34 38 A juice obtained from the leaves of a succulent, used as an emollient in skin and hair preparations (4,4) 39 Rock that forms the columns of Fingal’s Cave on the island of Staffa (6) 40 Former actor who became the 40th President of the United States (6,6)
Down
2 Isaac –––, Russian-born US writer whose science-fiction works included the short story collection I, Robot (6) 3 Call used in the game of bingo to refer to the number 1 (6,3) 4 Friar –––, one of Robin Hood’s Merry Men in folk tales (4) 5 Type of plant of the borage family, cultivated for its small fragrant purple flowers (10) 6 A vehicle with four wheels drawn by a horse or tractor (5) 7 ––– Creed, the formal summary of Christian beliefs (6) 8 Disturbances made by an unruly mob, tumults or uproars (5) 9 A small, exclusive group of friends or people with common interests, clique (7) 10 Tubular pieces of pasta filled with meat or cheese (10) 16 A county in South West England, on the English Channel (6) 18 Stiff netting made of silk or rayon (5) 20 Major seaport in South Ukraine on the Black Sea (6) 21 The capital and largest city of Ethiopia (5,5) 22 One of the benches for the singers of a church or cathedral (10) 25 An affluent residential district in Central London, to the southwest of Buckingham Palace (9) 27 Anatomical name for the kneecap (7) 29 Large feline mammal of the Americas, similar to the leopard (6)
30 and 19 Across Italian tenor whose first album was 1994’s Il Mare Calmo Della Sera (6,7) 32 Scope or extent (5) 33 Town on West coast of Ayrshire, Scotland, the location of a famous golf course (5) 35 The fibre prepared from the husk of the coconut (4)