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, May 21 (photocopies not accepted). Today’s solution will appear next week and the winner’s name on Sunday, June 6. You must complete the iSpy box to enter. SEE BELOW THE GRID for details on how to enter – and good luck!

Across

11 The process by which a mature egg cell escapes from an ovary (9) 12 Rosaceous tree with white, pink or red flowers and small, sour fruits (4,5) 13 A spiny, trailing Mediterranean shrub with edible flower buds (5) 14 A soft, round sweet made of chocolate (7)

15 The characteristic cry of sheep, goats and young calves (5)

16 Oliver –––, English animator and puppeteer who created Ivor The Engine and Bagpuss (8) 18 A pyramidal coniferous tree, widely planted for ornament and timber (7,3)

22 (Of a horse) wearing leather sidepieces attached to its bridle to prevent sideways vision (9)

24 Black substance mixed with gravel and used in road-surfacing and roofing (7)

27 Bill –––, the 42nd president of the United States (7) 28 American medical researcher who developed the first successful polio vaccine (5,4)

30 Waves at frequencies above the audible range, used in medical diagnosis and therapy among other things (10)

32 Talk of a gossipy nature (8) 35 Any prohibition resulting from social or other conventions (5)

37 A miniature, threedimensional scene in which models of figures are seen against a background (7) 38 A religious decree issued by a Muslim leader (5) 39 Judgmental essays or commentaries, especially on artistic works (9)

40 A stew originating from France, made from haricot beans, goose, duck and pork sausages (9)

Down

1 A surgical instrument in the form of a pair of pincers (7) 2 Specially designed and made for a specific use (7-5)

3 Catherine –––, the sixth and last wife of Henry VIII (4) 4 A decree or settlement imposed, especially by a ruler or a victorious nation (6)

5 Council area of East Scotland on the North Sea (5) 6 Temporary wooden or metal framework used to support workers and materials during building work (11) 7 A European freshwater fish with a slender, bluish-green body (4)

8 The –––, republic in West Africa, almost entirely surrounded by Senegal (6) 9 Fencing sword similar to a foil but with a larger guard (4)

10 Physical, especially manual, skill or nimbleness (9)

17 A batch of grain for grinding (5)

19 Small, fragile biting insects abounding near stagnant water (5) 20 English engineer who invented the jet engine for aircraft (5,7)

21 Huge, hollow, wooden figure of an animal used by the Greeks to attack the city of Troy (6,5)

23 The Japanese art of fencing with bamboo swords (5)

25 A length of hair, the strands of which have been intertwined in a pattern (5)

26 The scientific study of sound and sound waves (9)

29 The state capital of Georgia, US, host city of the 1996 Olympics (7)

31 In Greek mythology, a handsome youth loved by Aphrodite (6) 33 William Randolph –––, US newspaper magnate whose life story inspired the film Citizen Kane (6) 34 Tree with deciduous, needle-like leaves and egg-shaped cones (5) 36 Temporary release of an accused person awaiting trial (4)

37 Sullen, hard or obstinate (4)

38 Ice –––, a sheet of ice, of variable size, floating in the sea (4)