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, January 3 (photocopies not accepted). Today’s solution will appear on next week and the winner’s name on Sunday, January 26. SEE BELOW THE GRID for details on how to enter.
Across
11 Professional treatment and care of the feet (9) 12 Joseph of –––, in the New Testament a wealthy Jewish man who buried the body of Jesus Christ after the crucifixion (9) 13 John –––, 10th President of the United States, serving from 1841-1845 (5) 14 Plucked musical instruments with strings the same length as the soundboard (7) 15 The mass of eggs deposited by fish, amphibians or molluscs (5) 16 Albert –––, German-born physicist best known for his general theory of relativity (8) 18 William –––, English Romantic poet whose works include The Prelude (10) 22 A golf club with a face angle of more than 50°, used to lift the ball clear of a bunker (4,5) 24 Country in Southern Africa, the capital of which is Windhoek (7) 27 General lawlessness and disorder (7) 28 Apparatus for housing prematurely born babies under optimum conditions (9) 30 Sugary delicacies such as preserves, sweets, cakes or pastries (10) 32 Christ The –––, 30-metre-high statue overlooking Rio de Janeiro, made of reinforced concrete and soapstone (8) 35 My Own Private –––, adventure film starring River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves (5) 37 A violent tropical storm formed over the South Pacific or Indian Ocean (7) 38 Augustus –––, 19th Century English architect who designed much of the interior of the Palace of Westminster (5) 39 British Book of the Year winner in 1997, written by Dava Sobel (9) 40 Fantasy novel by J.R.R. Tolkien, following Bilbo Baggins on a quest for treasure guarded by Smaug the dragon (3,6)
Down
1 Manual implements for cutting grass (7) 2 The largest fish market in London, located at Canary Wharf (12) 3 River which flows North through Leicester (4) 4 A tall, graceful, fast-moving breed of dog with a long silky coat, originally bred in Russia for hunting wolves (6) 5 Thomas –––, 16th Century lyrical poet credited with introducing the sonnet into English literature (5) 6 Hostility, spitefulness or ill will (11) 7 Items worn to protect clothes whilst eating (4) 8 The capital and largest city of Poland, on the Vistula River (6) 9 One of the two main branches of Islam (4) 10 Platform from which rockets or missiles take off vertically (9) 17 Hip-length or knee-length garment (5) 19 The brightest star in the constellation Cygnus (5) 20 President of Zimbabwe 1987-2017 (6,6) 21 An arm of the Mediterranean lying between the Italian and the Balkan peninsulas (8,3) 23 John –––, Oscar-winning American actor who starred in many Western movies (5) 25 A natural or man-made mound on which a castle was erected (5) 26 ––– Park, 1814 Jane Austen novel in which the protagonist is Fanny Price (9) 29 A group of three (7) 31 Either of two parallel lines of latitude north or south of the equator (6) 33 Cathedral city and the county town of Devon (6) 34 Bars that can be slid into sockets to lock doors or gates (5) 36 The current Princess Royal (4) 37 ––– d’état, a sudden violent or illegal seizure of government (4) 38 Cattle –––, handheld goad used to control livestock (4)