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, October 19 (photocopies not accepted). Today’s solution will appear next week and the winner’s name on Sunday, November 4. SEE BELOW THE GRID for details on how to enter. ACROSS 1 American golfer who won seven major titles in the 1950s and ’60s (6,6) 8 Burrowing rodent of North and Central America with fur-lined cheek pouches (6) 11 Stimulant in tea, coffee and cocoa (8) 12 Kind, category or sort, especially of a literary or artistic work (5) 13 A strong wooden barrel used to hold alcoholic drink (4) 14 A hard, greyish-black mineral, used as an abrasive and polishing agent (5) 15 The head creative director of the fashion house Chanel (4,9) 17 Hallways or passages connecting parts of a building (9) 19 Marcel –––, famous French mime artist who collaborated with Michael Jackson (7) 23 A group of people sworn to deliver a true verdict in a court of law (4) 24 Algernon Charles –––, English writer who invented the roundel form of verse (9) 25 A raised structure at the stern of a vessel, especially a sailing ship (4) 26 High-fashion designing and dressmaking (7) 28 Small, hard-shelled nut with an edible green kernel, often in baklava (9) 31 The language of parts of Britain from about 1100 AD to about 1450 AD (6,7) 34 In Greek mythology, fluid said to flow in the veins of the gods (5) 36 The word that represents K in the phonetic alphabet (4) 37 Squalid, overcrowded houses or sections of a city (5) 38 The whole or powdered seeds of a tropical berry, tasting like a mixture of cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg (8) 39 City and resort in the Alps of Eastern France, on a lake of the same name (6) 40 Henry VIII’s Lord Chancellor from 1515 AD to 1529 AD, builder of Hampton Court Palace (6,6)

DOWN 2 Royal domains, kingdoms (6) 3 A collection of money made at a religious service (9) 4 The usually intravenous administration of a therapeutic solution (4) 5 Chief port of Egypt on the Nile Delta, known for its ancient lighthouse (10) 6 A bump on a ski slope formed by skiers making sharp turns (5) 7 Strip of ground from which aircraft take off and land (6) 8 An aquatic bird unable to walk on dry land that builds floating nests anchored to vegetation (5) 9 Ocean to the west of North and South America (7) 10 A republic in Central America that lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire (2,8) 16 The longest river within British Columbia, rising in the Rocky Mountains (6) 18 The minister of a synagogue (5) 20 Central Intelligence ––– with headquarters in Langley, Virginia (6) 21 Shortened name of an international song contest held annually since 1956 (10) 22 The capital city of Slovakia, on the River Danube (10) 25 The leading performer in a concert, play, ballet or opera (9) 27 The aquatic larva of frogs and toads (7) 29 An offensive or contemptuous remark or action, affront (6) 30 An acknowledgment that a scoring hit has been made in a fencing competition (6) 32 A short literary composition on a particular subject (5) 33 A long rope or thong with a running noose at one end (5) 35 An imperfection, defect or blemish (4)