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, March 19 (photocopies not accepted). Today’s solution will appear next week and the winner’s name on Sunday, April 4. SEE BELOW THE GRID for details on how to enter.
Across
10 Crescent-shaped fruit of an herbaceous, tree-like plant (6) 11 The act of freeing, or state of being freed (12) 12 Dialect or archaic word for a lake or marsh (4) 13 Paul –––, Australian tennis player who won four Grand Slam doubles titles (7) 14 George Frideric –––, German-English Baroque composer whose famous works include Messiah and Water Music (6) 15 Warren G. –––, the 29th President of the United States (7) 16 (Of a character) written or printed above the line (11) 20 Remark or cry of derision, taunt (4) 21 The most celebrated of the Hindu deities (7) 22 The arrangement or plan of something such as a building (6) 23 Unit of weight used to measure the fineness of silk and other fibres (6) 25 Loud horns or alerting devices (7) 27 Alastair –––, former England cricket captain, the leading run-scorer in Test matches for England (4) 28 A person claiming to have the power to foretell future events (11) 29 A large group of cages for intensive rearing of poultry (7) 32 A US space station launched in May 1973 (6) 35 Thick-furred marsupial of the Americas, with an elongated snout and a hairless, prehensile tail (7) 36 – – – Honeychurch, the heroine of E.M. Forster’s novel A Room With A View (4) 37 A percussion instrument consisting of a set of tuned metal plates played with small hammers (12) 38 Short, stabbing weapon with a pointed blade (6)
Down
1 The most northerly point of South Island, New Zealand, named by Captain Cook in 1770 (4,8) 2 Shrub or plant cultivated for its mauve or blue flowers, the source of a fragrant oil (8) 3 DC Comics superhero created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger in 1939 (6) 4 Jules –––, French science fiction writer, whose works include Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea (5) 5 South coast port and start point of The Trafalgar Way (8) 6 A device for increasing speed, especially the throttle pedal in a motor vehicle (11) 7 A large, soft-finned, deep-sea fish with a deep, colourful body, also called moonfish or kingfish (4) 8 Large, flat fish whose whiplike tail bears a serrated, venomous spine (8) 9 The chief magistrate of the republic of Venice until 1797 (4) 17 The gowns worn by Queen’s Counsels in court (5) 18 States or governments characterised by the rule of the wealthy (12) 19 Cartoon character created in 1928 whose voice was originally provided by Walt Disney (6,5) 21 The ––– Ballet, Soviet name of the Saint Petersburg ballet company, now known as the Mariinsky Ballet (5) 24 The variety or form of a language used by an individual (8) 26 ––– fluid, the fluid surrounding the foetus in the womb (8) 27 The study of plant and animal cells, including their structure, function and formation (8) 30 Spanish –––, the great fleet sent by Philip II of Spain against England in 1588 (6) 31 A sacred song, lyric poem or prayer from a certain book of the Old Testament (5) 33 A knee-length, pleated tartan skirt, as worn by Highlanders (4) 34 A short, high-pitched sound, especially one made by the horn of a car (4)
NOW THERE ARE THREE WAYS TO ENTER
Complete the Prize Crossword and count how many times the letter ‘i’ appears in the finished grid. Then text ISPY followed by your answer, name and postcode to 65700. Texts cost £1 plus your standard network charge. Or call 0905 652 2172 and leave your answer and details. Calls cost £1 plus your telephone company’s network access charge. Entries will be accepted until 11.59pm on Friday. Or post your completed grid AND iSpy answer to The Prize Crossword No 2000, The Mail on Sunday, PO Box 3451, Norwich NR7 7NR. Entries must arrive by Friday, March 19 (photocopies not accepted). The winner will be selected at random from correct iSpy answers. See today’s solutions panel for terms and conditions.
Winner of Prize Crossword No 1997: Anne Hudson, of Pontefract, West Yorkshire. Last week’s answer: 16