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, November 17 (photocopies not accepted). Today’s solution will appear next week and the winner’s name on Sunday, December 3. You must complete the iSpy box to enter. SEE BELOW THE GRID for details on how to enter – and good luck!

Across

1 American actor who starred in films including Bullitt and The Great Escape (5,7)

8 A main road built to avoid a

city or congested area (6) 11 The ---, 1953 play by

Arthur Miller set during the Salem witch trials of the 17th Century (8)

12 Governess of the Von Trapp family in the musical The Sound Of Music (5)

13 Jacques ---, French filmmaker and comic actor who created

Monsieur Hulot (4)

14 Glove puppet bear introduced to TV in the 1950s by Harry Corbett (5) 15 Two-humped pack animal native to the steppes of Central Asia (8,5)

17 Any substance derived from parts of a plant and used in making drugs or flavouring foodstuffs (9)

19 Small, graceful antelope of

Africa and Asia (7)

23 Low-lying flat areas

of marshland (4)

24 The London ---, West

End theatre on Argyll

Street, Soho (9)

25 City on the Rhine which was the capital of West Germany 1949-90 (4)

26 A musician who plays the largest member of the violin family (7)

28 A tax on property inheritances, known as Inheritance Tax since 1986 (5,4) 31 American aviator; the first woman to fly the Atlantic solo (6,7)

34 In Greek mythology, princess of Colchis who helped Jason obtain the Golden Fleece (5)

36 A long shallow basket made of curved strips of wood, used for carrying flowers or fruit (4)

37 The first public appearance of an actor or musician (5)

38 The ---, a wooded plateau in south-east Belgium, Luxembourg and north-east France (8)

39 An optical disk used to store large amounts of digital information (3-3)

40 People who create

new fashions (12)

Down

2 European flatfish with a brown speckled scaleless body; a highly valued food fish (6)

3 Another word

for holidays (9)

4 --- -Dick, 1851 novel by Herman Melville, featuring Captain Ahab and the Pequod (4)

5 A toasted tortilla filled with cheese and sometimes other ingredients (10)

6 An archaic or dialect

word for ant (5)

7 Lando ---, British racing driver who achieved his first Formula One podium finish at the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix (6) 8 Physical strength, as

opposed to intelligence (5) 9 A thick meat or

vegetable soup (7)

10 Donald ---, Canadian actor who received an Academy Honorary

Award in 2017 (10)

16 The grounds and buildings

of a university (6)

18 A communal meal shared among Christians, also known as the lovefeast (5) 20 Spanish ---, the great fleet sent by Philip II of Spain against England in 1588 (6) 21 A butterfly with black wings and red and white markings (3,7)

22 François ---, the president

of France 1981-95 (10)

25 --- squash, marrow-like plant with pear-shaped fruits and orange flesh (9) 27 An annual flat horse race established at Doncaster in 1776 (2,5)

29 An opening chess move in which a piece is sacrificed to secure an advantageous position (6)

30 A thin layer of wood of or plastic, bonded to the surface of a less expensive material (6)

32 The Reverend W. ---, creator of Thomas the

Tank Engine (5)

33 Folkestone and ---, parliamentary constituency in Kent (5)

35 Eric ---, member of the Monty Python comedy group (4)