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, April 07 (photocopies not accepted). Today’s solution will appear next week and the winner’s name on Sunday, April 23. SEE BELOW THE GRID for details on how to enter. ACROSS 1 In Greek mythology, the wife of Agamemnon, whom she killed on his return from the Trojan War (12) 8 City in North East Italy, built on more than 100 islands (6) 11 Retaliatory action against an enemy in wartime (8) 12 A large painting or picture on a wall (5) 13 The central space in a church (4) 14 An invigorating type of bath, which originated in Finland (5) 15 17th Century English metaphysical poet whose works included To His Coy Mistress (6,7) 17 British actress who won an Oscar for her supporting role in 1998’s Shakespeare In Love (4,5) 19 Biological warfare bacterium used to contaminate Gruinard Island (7) 23 The second letter in the Greek alphabet (4) 24 An ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens (9) 25 Jamie Oliver or Heston Blumenthal, for example (4) 26 Stanley ---, British Prime Minister who served under three monarchs (7) 28 An Irish breed of terrier with a soft, wavy coat of a silvery-grey or smokyblue colour (5,4) 31 18th Century English novelist and dramatist whose works included Tom Jones (5,8) 34 A dish consisting of small pieces of meat and vegetables threaded onto skewers and grilled (5) 36 Bird similar to, but smaller than, a pigeon (4) 37 Edvard ---, Norwegian composer and pianist known for his incidental music to Ibsen’s Peer Gynt (5) 38 The worship of material objects, images or icons (8) 39 Advisor to Uther Pendragon in Arthurian tales (6) 40 An armed insurrection against British rule that took place in Dublin in April 1916 in Ireland (6,6) DOWN 2 Room for free movement within limits (6) 3 Large, hairy spider, not dangerous to humans (9) 4 Type of plant typically growing in dense mats on trees, rocks, moist ground etc (4) 5 English actress famous for her stage partnership with Henry Irving in the late 19th Century (5,5) 6 East ---, a former colony of Portugal, part of the Lesser Sunda Islands (5) 7 Pointed projectiles consisting of shafts, nocks and fletchings (6) 8 Count Alessandro ---, inventor of the electric battery and discoverer of methane (5) 9 The ancient capital of Assyria, on the River Tigris (7) 10 Processions of people on horseback, in cars etc (10) 16 The capital and largest city of Rwanda (6) 18 A thicket of small trees or shrubs (5) 20 Northamptonshire village, the site of a major Parliamentarian victory in the Civil War (6) 21 A predatory marine creature with oral rings of tentacles (3,7) 22 A biscuit of nuts and dried fruit with a chocolate base (10) 25 Raised paths or roads crossing water, marshland, sand etc (9) 27 Surname of 20th Century naturalist Gerald and his brother, novelist Lawrence (7) 29 Country on the Eastern coast of Central America, bordered by Mexico and Guatemala (6) 30 Tony ---, TV screenwriter and creator of Coronation Street (6) 32 Receiver of stolen goods in the Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist (5) 33 Edgar ---, French Impressionist artist identified with the subject of dance (5) 35 River which flows north through Leicester (4)