THE PRIZE CROSSWORD
WIN £1,500
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, December 6 (photocopies not accepted). Today’s solution will appear next week and the winner’s name on Sunday, December 22. SEE BELOW THE GRID for details on how to enter.
Across
11 In law, a judicial decision that serves as an authority for deciding a later case (9) 12 Cricket club Michael Vaughan played for during his entire county career (9) 13 In Greek mythology, the goddess of peace (5) 14 A grain or potato-based spirit from Scandinavia, flavoured with herbs and spices (7) 15 In communications, a codeword for the letter ‘h’ (5) 16 Lively dance traditionally performed by sailors (8) 18 A fabric with stripes or bars woven in a checked or squared pattern (10) 22 In medieval legend, the vessel used by Jesus at the Last Supper (4,5) 24 Amounts of money, earned or unearned, accrued over a given period of time (7) 27 Famous London prison, in use from the Middle Ages, demolished in 1904 (7) 28 Graceful mammals of Africa and Asia, having long legs and horns (9) 30 One of the first English women to achieve a reputation for her poetry, sister of fellow poet and scholar Sir Philip (4,6) 32 A building next to a cricket pitch in which players can change clothes (8) 35 East –––, small South East Asian country, a former colony of Portugal (5)
37 A contest to decide a tie in a sports competition (7) 38 ––– Thunberg, Swedish climate activist (5) 39 Musical term meaning not to be omitted in performance (9) 40 Grover –––, the 22nd and 24th President of the United States (9)
Down
1 Type of piano in which the strings are arranged vertically rather than horizontally (7) 2 Celestial event caused when the Earth passes through the path of a comet, displaying space debris as streaks of light (6,6) 3 Saint known as the Venerable –––, monk and scholar noted for his Ecclesiastical History Of The English People (4) 4 To depart secretly or suddenly, abscond (6) 5 A strong porter, highly flavoured with malt (5) 6 American poet and novelist who married Ted Hughes in 1956 (6,5) 7 Former legal document commanding a person to do or refrain from doing some specified act (4) 8 ––– Summerson, one of the two narrators of Bleak House by Charles Dickens (6) 9 Gold, or a substance simulating it, used to cover objects (4)
10 The main constituent of plant cell walls, used in making paper (9) 17 A 19th Century Bohemian dance with three steps and a hop (5) 19 A formal hearing in a court of law (5) 20 The anniversary of the signing of the truce that ended World War I, now kept on Remembrance Sunday (9,3) 21 A mild analgesic drug used as an alternative to aspirin (11) 23 Excessive consumption of or desire for food (5) 25 An island off West Italy, in the Bay of Naples (5) 26 A film in which drawings or puppets appear to move (9) 29 In fencing, a call to participants to adopt a defensive stance (2,5) 31 An injury to a joint, caused by twisting or wrenching (6) 33 ––– the Great, King of Wessex from 871AD and co-creator of the Danelaw (6) 34 Pocket of skin on a kangaroo’s stomach in which its baby grows (5) 36 Riotous or disorderly crowds (4) 37 A cot-like, four-wheeled carriage for a baby (4) 38 ––– club, in the US, a choral group or society (4)