THE PRIZE CROSSWORD

WIN €2,000

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, May 29 (photocopies not accepted). Today’s solution will appear next week and the winner’s name on Sunday, June 14. You must complete the iSpy box to enter. SEE BELOW THE GRID for details on how to enter – and good luck!

Across

1 20th Century English poet who wrote

The Whitsun Weddings and High Windows (6,6) 8 An informal meal eaten outside (6) 11 An indirect or subtle reference, insinuation (8) 12 A thin stick used by the conductor of an orchestra or choir (5) 13 A buoyant platform of logs or planks (4) 14 See 35 Down 15 20th Century American jazz singer, subject of the film Lady Sings The Blues (6,7)

17 Tropical tree with fern-like leaves and purple flowers (9)

19 Very strict or austere (7) 23 A Japanese forestdwelling deer having a brown coat spotted with white in summer (4) 24 The act of preserving, or the state of being preserved, from harm (9) 25 The thick, fleshy part of the back of the lower leg (4)

26 Louis – – –, 19th Century French chemist known for his breakthroughs in microbiology (7)

28 Any of the tendons at the back of the knee (9) 31 Manfred – – – – – –, German First World War fighter pilot nicknamed the Red Baron (3,10)

34 Of, or relating to, the sun (5)

36 The eldest granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II (4) 37 Mythical King of Crete for whom Daedalus built the Labyrinth (5)

38 A short, usually amusing account of an incident (8) 39 Marcel – – –, French dramatist, filmmaker and novelist who wrote Jean De Florette and Manon Des Sources (6) 40 Surgical removal of the uterus (12)

Down

2 1890 novel by Knut Hamsun about a destitute writer (6)

3 The capital and largest city of Slovenia (9)

4 A unit of liquid volume equal to one-eighth of an imperial gallon (4) 5 – – – snowman, a large, legendary, manlike or apelike creature alleged to inhabit the Himalayan mountains (10)

6 The capital and largest city of Afghanistan (5) 7 Evergreen tree grown for its hard aromatic seed, used as a spice (6) 8 A variety of bean with mottled seeds (5) 9 Jacques – – –, French explorer who claimed what is now Canada for France in 1534 (7) 10 Large, air-filled object made of strong plastic or rubber, used for children to play on (10) 16 The capital and chief port of the Bahamas, on the coast of the island of New Providence (6)

18 – – –, Princess of Wales, late mother of Princes William and Harry (5) 20 Small room or cupboard in which provisions or cooking utensils or are kept (6)

21 A cocktail consisting of pineapple juice, coconut and rum (4,6) 22 1948 musical by Cole Porter, the story of which involves the production of a version of The Taming Of The Shrew (4,2,4)

25 Pact or treaty, especially one between the Vatican and another state (9) 27 Ground, or a piece of ground (7)

29 A strong, very unpleasant smell (6)

30 Any of various very small breeds of domestic fowl (6) 32 Cud-chewing mammal adapted to survive long periods without food or water (5)

33 A fertile patch in a desert, occurring where the water table reaches the ground surface (5) 35 and 14 Across American entertainer known for starring in musical films including 1952’s Singin’ In The Rain (4,5)