CLOCK WORD

The solutions from 1 to 12 are all six-letter words ending with the letter Y in the centre. Moving clockwise from 1, the letters in the outer circle will spell out the name of an 18th-century French academician.

1. Drab

2. Paean of praise

3. Almost

4. Stupidity

5. Stout, sturdy

6. Sleepy

7. Wound

8. Pay

9. Put to work

10. Cure

11. Hullabaloo

12. Irritable