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 14 (photocopies not accepted). Today’s solution will appear next week and the winner’s name on Sunday, October 30. You must complete the iSpy box to enter. SEE BELOW THE GRID for details on how to enter – and good luck!

Across

1 Formed before one has enough information about something (12)

8 In the Roman Catholic Church, a book containing the prayers of the Masses for a complete year (6)

11 Eurasian legless lizard, with a brownish-grey snake-like body (8)

12 Jochen ---, German-born racing driver awarded the 1970 Formula One World Championship posthumously (5)

13 and 4 Down 1952 Western film starring

Gary Cooper and

Grace Kelly (4,4)

14 A line or rope used to walk

or control a dog (5)

15 The ---, 18th-Century philosophical movement stressing the importance of reason (13)

17 Tall helmets of black fur, worn by certain British

Army regiments (9)

19 Speaks freely or

without restraint (5,2)

23 In basketball, a shot in which the ball is thrown down through the basket (4) 24 Genus of coniferous trees which includes the monkey puzzle (9)

25 Members of a female

religious community (4)

26 King of England 1135-54; grandson of William the Conqueror (7) 28 An intermediate storey, especially between the ground and first floor of a building (9)

31 20th-Century German dramatist and poet who wrote The

Threepenny Opera (7,6)

34 A set of 24 or 25 sheets of paper; a twentieth of a ream (5)

36 Christian ---, French fashion designer whose first collection inspired the ‘New Look’ style (4)

37 George ---, creator of the

Star Wars franchise (5)

38 Small ceramic dishes used to bake and serve food in individual portions (8)

39 Ceremonial seat used by a monarch or bishop on occasions of state (6)

40 Retired American jockey who won both the

Kentucky Derby and the Epsom Derby (5,7)

Down

2 Help or assistance, as to poor, needy or distressed people (6)

3 Sailing regatta held annually

on the Solent (5,4)

4 See 13 Across

5 English actor noted for his Shakespearean roles in the early 19th Century (6,4)

6 Giuseppe ---, Italian Romantic composer of the opera Aida (5)

7 Small boat, powered by sail,

oars or outboard motor (6) 8 In Christianity, the liturgical headdress of a bishop or abbot (5)

9 Robert ---, Luxembourg-born statesman who was twice Prime Minister of France; one of the founders of the EU (7) 10 Members of an indigenous North American people formerly living along the St Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers in Canada (10)

16 The practice of sorting patients into categories of priority for treatment (6)

18 A recess in a wall or

rock face (5)

20 Edible marine crustaceans (6) 21 Cephalopod mollusc with eight arms and two tentacles (10)

22 Lakota Sioux chief who defeated General Custer at the Battle of the Little Bighorn (5,5)

25 An island off Southeast

Massachusetts (9)

27 Long-nosed ---, small Australian marsupial with a pointed nose and grey-brown fur (7)

29 Counting device which consists of a frame holding rods with beads on them (6) 30 Emily ---, author of the 1847

novel Wuthering Heights (6) 32 City in Northern France near

the border with Belgium (5)

33 To follow subsequently

or in order (5)

35 Jane Austen novel featuring a

matchmaking heroine (4)