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, May 6 (photocopies not accepted). Today’s solution will appear next week and the winner’s name on Sunday, May 22. SEE BELOW THE GRID for details on how to enter.

Across

1 A petty gangster or ruffian (7)

5 The capital and largest city of El Salvador (3,8)

10 A colourless radioactive gas, considered to be a health hazard (5)

11 Sugar --- ---, a type of climbing plant with a crisp, edible pod (4,3)

13 2015 novel by Max Porter, --- Is The Thing With Feathers (5)

14 Jessica --- ---, retired athlete who won gold in the heptathlon at the 2012 Olympic Games (5-4)

15 A person who gives shows using dolls or animal figures (9)

16 A flat blade or sail forming part of the wheel of a windmill (4)

17 20th-Century US folk musician whose songs include This Land Is Your Land (5,7)

20 --- and void, without legal force (4)

21 The thin protective outer layer of the skin (9)

22 A semiprecious stone which varies in colour from white to green (4)

26 Burrowing crustaceans, the males of which have one very large anterior claw (7,5)

27 In the Old Testament, the first son of Adam and Eve (4)

29 Tears or cuts jaggedly (9)

31 In ancient Rome, a man trained to fight in an arena to provide entertainment (9)

33 --- Hird, performer who won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress three times (5)

34 A ballroom dance combining short and long steps (7)

35 Cellar, vault or underground chamber used as a chapel or burial place (5)

36 Large open public space in Southwest Devon; supposed site of Drake’s famous 1588 game of bowls (8,3)

37 The ---, cast of characters created by Jim and Jane Henson in 1955 (7)

Down

1 Stock character originating in the commedia dell’arte, represented in diamond-patterned tights, wearing a black mask (9)

2 --- Nash, 20th-Century American poet known for his pithy and funny light verse (5)

3 Granite headland in Cornwall (5,3)

4 A fine plain-weave cotton fabric (6)

5 Person who owns or works a modest piece of agricultural land (11)

6 The acrobatic feat of springing to one’s feet from a position flat on one’s back (3-2)

7 A small endearing scene, view or picture (8)

8 The lower chamber of the Irish parliament (4,7)

9 Umpire or judge in a sport such as football or boxing (7)

12 In music, a chord whose notes are played in rapid succession rather than simultaneously (8)

16 A farewell address or speech (11)

18 20th-Century actor and writer who starred in Doctor In The House (4,7)

19 An alcoholic drink, especially wine, drunk before a meal to whet the appetite (8)

23 A river in Southwest Asia, rising in Eastern Turkey (9)

24 --- Peixoto, soldier and politician; the second president of Brazil (8)

25 An annual international tennis championship for men’s teams (5,3)

26 A pen having a writing point made from pressed fibres (4-3)

28 Any of various very small breeds of domestic fowl (6)

30 --- sense, a supposed means of perception such as intuition or clairvoyance (5)

32 Herb with small leaves and white, pink or red flowers (5)