THE PRIZE CROSSWORD

There’s an amazing €2,000 prize for the first correct solution drawn at random in our general knowledge Prize Crossword. Entries must arrive by Friday, October 13 (photocopies not accepted). Today’s solution will appear next week and the winner’s name on

Across

11 An exercise machine that consists of a continuous moving belt (9) 12 A large and luxurious car, especially one with a glass division between the driver and passengers (9) 13 King of Northumbria who converted to Christianity (5) 14 The large round fruit of a cucurbitaceous plant, having thick, orange rind, pulpy flesh and numerous seeds (7) 15 Georges ---, French Romantic composer and pianist best known for the 1875 opera Carmen (5) 16 Charles ---, 19th Century historian and novelist who wrote the children’s classic The Water-Babies (8) 18 Paintings or photographs depicting natural scenery (10) 22 A town in New York State, which gave its name to a rock festival in August 1969 (9) 24 A small, thick, corkscrewshaped pasta (7) 27 Small bunting, once regarded as a delicacy on French menus (7) 28 In ancient Greece, a passionate choral hymn in honour of Dionysus (9) 30 Musical term meaning very loud (10) 32 Electrical appliance used to pluck out unwanted hairs (8) 35 A cell or organ that synthesises chemical substances and secretes them for the body to either use or eliminate (5) 37 A republic in North West Africa, on the Mediterranean (7) 38 Independent island state about halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand (5) 39 Arturo ---, Italian conductor; music director of the NBC Symphony Orchestra 1937-1954 (9) 40 American golfer who won five Open Championships in the 1970s and ’80s (3,6)

Down

1 (Of bacon) having alternate layers of meat and fat (7) 2 Cumbrian lake, home to St Herbert’s Island (12) 3 East of ---, 1952 Steinbeck novel about the Trasks and the Hamiltons (4) 4 A wooden plug forming a flue in the end of a pipe, as the mouthpiece of a recorder (6) 5 Gustav ---, Austrian symbolist painter whose works included The Kiss (5) 6 Reinforced sleeveless garments worn for protection against gunfire or shrapnel (4,7) 7 A term used at the end of a prayer (4) 8 The largest Canadian province by area (6) 9 César ---, Swiss hotelier, founder of famous establishments in Paris and London (4) 10 The technical name for whooping cough (9) 17 The capital of South Korea, located on the Han River (5) 19 Animated black duck originally voiced by Mel Blanc (5) 20 Medical specialist who takes blood from patients (12) 21 New York Yankees baseball player who married Marilyn Monroe in 1954 (3,8) 23 Song of ---, another name for the Old Testament book Song of Solomon (5) 25 A piece of fabric or knitted material worn around the shoulders (5) 26 Instances of close quarters combat between fighter aircraft (9) 29 In Greek myths, the daughter of Minos and Pasiphae, who helped Theseus find his way out of the Minotaur’s labyrinth (7) 31 The --- Ocean is bordered by Africa in the West and Asia in the North (6) 33 The collection of 150 sacred songs in the Old Testament (6) 34 A soup made by boiling meat, fish, vegetables in water (5) 36 A domed or vaulted recess, especially at the East end of a church (4) 37 Fleshy seed covering, such as those of the yew and nutmeg (4) 38 The former name of Thailand (4)