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, January 29 (photocopies not accepted). Today’s solution will appear next week and the winner’s name on Sunday, February 14. SEE BELOW THE GRID for details on how to enter.
Across
11 A leader of the Shiite sect of the Muslim religion, serving as teacher, judge, and administrator (9) 12 Prolific female dramatist of the English Restoration (5,4) 13 A belief, principle or doctrine (5) 14 A tank for the storage of water, especially within the roof of a house or connected to a toilet (7) 15 A circular coral reef that encircles a lagoon (5) 16 Roald –––, Norwegian explorer and navigator, the first man to reach the South Pole (8) 18 One of an association of coastal towns in South East England which formerly provided ships for the king’s service (6,4) 22 In cinema, an expansion of a script into sequence form, indicating camera angles and dialogue (9) 24 A yellowish-red dye obtained from the seeds of a tropical American tree, used for colouring food and fabrics (7) 27 Involving practical experience of equipment (5-2) 28 Entered illegally, especially by force (5,4) 30 A coastal region of North East Spain along the Mediterranean (5,5) 32 Another name for a slaughterhouse (8) 35 A red or white wine from the South Burgundy region of France (5) 37 French jewellery and watch company founded in Paris in 1847 (7) 38 A polyphonic choral composition used as an anthem in the Roman Catholic service (5) 39 A state of South East India, the capital of which is Chennai (5,4) 40 Wild plants bearing pale yellow flowers in the spring (9)
Down
1 A bikini top in the form of a narrow band of material (7) 2 Large prawns or small lobsters (12) 3 A state of the Midwestern US, the capital of which is Des Moines (4) 4 A woman’s almost brimless, close-fitting hat (6) 5 A deep cleft in the ground (5) 6 The utterance of a curse against someone or something (11) 7 Amir –––, British former light-welterweight world champion boxer who won a silver medal at the 2004 Olympics (4) 8 An open-topped glass container for serving water or wine at table (6) 9 The standard monetary unit of countries including Argentina, Chile and Cuba (4) 10 In economics, a progressive increase in the general level of prices (9)
17 Musical compositions for two performers or voices (5) 19 To shake or tremble, as with fear (5) 20 A specialist who corrects the position of people’s teeth (12) 21 Animals who feed on grass and other plants (11) 23 The male singing voice intermediate between alto and baritone (5) 25 An instrumental group of nine players (5) 26 In chess, the winning position in which an opponent’s king is under attack and unable to escape (9) 29 A public, often organised, dissent (7) 31 ––– Palmer, American golfer who won seven majors in the 1950s and 1960s (6) 33 Jane –––, English-born actress after whom a style of Hermès bag was named (6) 34 Hamburger-loving character from the Popeye cartoons created by E.C. Segar (5) 36 ––– David, the US president’s retreat in Maryland (4) 37 Steve –––, British athlete who set world records in the 1500m, 2000m and the mile in 1985 (4) 38 Karl –––, German philosopher and political theorist famous for co-writing The Communist Manifesto (4)