THE PRIZE CROSSWORD
There’s an amazing £1,500 prize for the first correct solution drawn at random in our general knowledge Prize Crossword. Entries must arrive by Friday, November 24 (photocopies not accepted). Today’s solution will appear next week and the winner’s name on Sunday, December 10. SEE BELOW THE GRID for details on how to enter.
ACROSS
1 A crisp, lustrous, plain weave silk or rayon fabric (7) 5 English actor knighted in 1953, after whom a West End theatre is named (4,7) 10 See 28 Down 11 --- up, made smart and neat (7) 13 Plane curves resembling the outline of eggs (5) 14 Giuseppe ---, 19th Century Italian patriot after whom a type of biscuit is named (9) 15 Henry ---, the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize laureate who was US Secretary of State 1973-1977 (9) 16 The people who man a ship, boat, aircraft (4) 17 Very large mammal living in or around tropical African rivers (12) 20 A piece of music composed for the voice (4) 21 A circle of dark, luxuriant vegetation in grassy ground corresponding to the edge of an underground fungal mycelium, the subject of folklore (5,4) 22 See 34 26 A procedure in cosmetic surgery in which rough facial skin is removed by scrubbing (12) 27 Johann Sebastian ---, German Baroque composer and musician whose works included the Brandenburg Concertos (4) 29 Edward ---, character in 24 Down who eventually marries the title character (9) 31 Coniferous tree with bluegreen, needle-like leaves and brown cones, a valuable timber tree (5,4) 33 A god or goddess (5) 34 and 22 South African cleric and activist who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 (7,4) 35 A large, wide-mouthed fishing net dragged by a boat (5) 36 A town in Fife, a former residence of Scottish kings and birthplace of the industrialist Andrew Carnegie (11) 37 Vague ideas, impressions (7)
DOWN
1 Light wooden sleds on runners used for sliding over snow and ice (9) 2 A powder prepared by sifting and grinding the meal of a grass, especially wheat (5) 3 Makes honourable or excellent; dignifies, exalts (8) 4 Saint ---, Italian Benedictine monk who was Archbishop of Canterbury 1093-1109 (6) 5 Ornamental pots or troughs for plants (11) 6 A diacritical mark, placed over certain letters to modify their sounds (5) 7 Conceited, boastful people (8) 8 Town on the banks of the Firth of Forth, site of a large oil refinery (11) 9 Regions that are devoid or almost devoid of vegetation, especially because of low rainfall (7) 12 Short-handled hooded shovels into which dirt is swept from floors (8) 16 A shortening of a word, or group of words, often marked by an apostrophe (11) 18 The fatty extreme end portion of the tail of a fowl when cooked (7,4) 19 Told a story; related (8) 23 Portable devices used for protection against rain or snow (9) 24 Novel by Charlotte Bronte, published in 1847 under the pen name Currer Bell (4,4) 25 A small European songbird, with a black head and greyish-brown body (5,3) 26 Spoken of or treated with contempt, mockery or ridicule (7) 28 and 10 Across Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 2007-2010 (6,5) 30 Sanskrit term that denotes an inspired sage or poet (5) 32 Gemstone State of North West US, the capital of which is Boise (5)