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, July 24 (photocopies not accepted). Today’s solution will appear next week and the winner’s name on Sunday, August 9. SEE BELOW THE GRID for details on how to enter.

Across

1 A detailed outline setting out the objectives and strategy of a company and its expected profits over a set period (8,4) 8 A ramshackle hut or crude dwelling (6) 11 A group of people who arrange online to meet in a public place to do something for a short time and then disperse quickly (5,3) 12 Dwarf planet classified as a planet until 2006 (5) 13 An excessive amount, as in the production of a crop (4) 14 A set of 24 or 25 sheets of paper (5) 15 A building of glass and iron designed by Joseph Paxton to house the Great Exhibition of 1851 (7,6) 17 Sincerely and strongly felt (9) 19 A thin sheet of filled dough, rolled up and baked (7) 23 Informally, a hurried and stealthy departure in order to avoid obligations (4) 24 Central American republic on the Caribbean and the Pacific (9) 25 The smallest and weakest young animal in a litter (4) 26 Edible marine mollusc with a fluted, fan-shaped shell (7) 28 In geography, the process of collecting water, or a structure in which water is collected (9) 31 Old English folk tradition usually performed by men (6,7) 34 Bob – – –, American singer and songwriter awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2016 (5)

36 and 9 Down American author and poet whose first autobiography was I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings (4,7) 37 Tarte – – –, an upside-down caramelised fruit tart (5) 38 A gambling game in which a ball is dropped onto a spinning horizontal wheel (8) 39 River in North West England flowing west from Stockport to empty in Liverpool Bay (6) 40 A book, often in many volumes, containing articles on various topics, often in alphabetical order (12)

Down

2 The mark ¨, placed over a vowel in some languages (6) 3 Person who takes part in an uprising or rebellion (9) 4 In the US, a gold-plated statuette awarded annually for outstanding television performances and productions (4) 5 In France, the highest official of an arrondissement (10) 6 Autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue (5)

7 A chewy sweet made from sugar or honey, nuts and egg white (6) 8 A type of single-masted sailing vessel (5) 9 See 36 Across

10 Short, thick clubs carried by police officers (10) 16 Francisco – – –, Spanish general and statesman (6) 18 Immature form of an insect (5) 20 A powerful shock that may have long-lasting effects (6) 21 The body of all qualified voters (10) 22 Regarding everything only in relation to oneself, self-centred (10) 25 A meadow on the bank of the Thames near Windsor, where King John acceded to Magna Carta in 1215 (9) 27 Long ropes with a running noose at one end (7) 29 Jean-Paul – – –, French philosopher and writer who refused to accept the 1964 Nobel Prize in Literature (6) 30 The inner or outer corners of the eyes, formed by the natural junction of the eyelids (6) 32 Barbecued spiced meat cooked on skewers and served with a sauce (5) 33 A person who believes the worst about people or the outcome of events (5) 35 A simple board game in which players move counters by throwing dice (4)