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 9 (photocopies not accepted). Today’s solution will appear next week and the winner’s name on Sunday, February 25. You must complete the iSpy box to enter. SEE BELOW THE GRID for details on how to enter – and good luck!
Across
1 People who take part or
share in something (12)
8 A period of 10
consecutive years (6)
11 Independent republic in the central Pacific Ocean, comprising 33 islands including Banaba (8)
12 Luxury fashion house based in Italy, founded in 1921 (5)
13 The back of the neck (4) 14 Ken ---, director whose films include Kes and I, Daniel Blake (5)
15 The --- ---, Harold Pinter’s
first full-length play (8,5) 17 Rock-like object consisting of the remains of a small celestial body that has fallen to earth (9) 19 Sir Curtly ---, West Indian former cricketer who took 405 Test wickets (7)
23 Long bench-like seats with backs, used by the congregation in a church (4)
24 Oceanic gull having a white plumage with pale grey, black-tipped wings and a square-cut tail (9) 25 A unit of liquid volume equal to an eighth of an imperial gallon (4)
26 Artificial substitute for breast milk intended for young infants (7) 28 A military unit comprising three or more companies (9)
31 The first black person to win the Academy Award for Best Actor (6,7)
34 To pry into the private
business of others (5)
36 A bar in certain pubs, offering intimate seating for only a few people (4)
37 John ---, 15th-Century Italian
navigator and explorer (5)
38 A medical instrument for
examining the ear (8)
39 --- Gaynor, American singer best known for her disco hit I Will Survive (6)
40 Former actor who became the 40th president of the United States in 1981 (6,6)
Down
2 Isaac ---, Russian-born US author of the story collection I, Robot (6)
3 A nickname for enthusiastic
birdwatchers (9)
4 Burrowing bivalve mollusc, many species of which are edible (4)
5 American author of
American Pastoral and
The Human Stain (6,4)
6 and 27 The --- ---, 1993 espionage novel by
John le Carré (5,7)
7 To make a formal withdrawal
of membership (6)
8 Decorative mat of lace
or paper (5) 9 In Greek mythology, a creature with the upper body of a man and the lower body of a horse (7) 10 Doing something on
someone else’s behalf (10) 16 Angela ---, chancellor of
Germany 2005-21 (6)
18 The coniferous forests extending across subarctic North America and Eurasia (5)
20 A mixture of rolled oats, nuts and fruit, eaten with milk (6)
21 Relating to
religious worship (10)
22 Port in County Durham,
on the North Sea (10)
25 An ancient civilisation of city-states extending from the Mediterranean Sea to the Lebanon Mountains (9) 27 See 6
29 Nickname of Sir Arthur Harris, marshal of the
Royal Air Force during the Second World War (6)
30 A fairground game in which a player tries to throw a large ring over an object to win it (6)
32 Plant with stiff lance-like leaves and spikes of white flowers (5)
33 In Greek mythology, any of a family of primordial gods, the sons and daughters of Uranus and Gaea (5) 35 Sullen or obstinate (4)