THE PRIZE CROSSWORD
WIN £1,500
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, January 20 (photocopies not accepted). Today’s solution will appear next week and the winner’s name on Sunday, February 5. SEE BELOW THE GRID for details on how to enter.
ACROSS
1 Violent tropical storm or cyclone (7) 5 English cricketer who kept wicket for the national side from 1988 to 1998 (4,7) 10 A grown-up person (5) 11 Blood-sucking insects with oval, flattened wingless bodies (7) 13 --- Lang, Austrian-born filmmaker whose movies included Metropolis and M (5) 14 --- Dumas, French novelist and dramatist whose works included The Three Musketeers (9) 15 Market town in Norfolk; a leading port in the Middle Ages (5,4) 16 A prearranged combat between two people with deadly weapons (4) 17 An estate in East Sussex; site of a famous annual festival of opera founded in 1934 (12) 20 Traditionally, the chief coalmining and industrial region of Germany, in North Rhine-Westphalia (4) 21 The residence of a religious community, especially of monks (9) 22 A tau cross with a loop on the top, often held or offered by gods and pharaohs (4) 26 British artist whose works include A Bigger Splash (5,7) 27 Small, round or oval, green citrus fruit (4) 29 The capital of Pakistan, home to the Faisal Mosque (9) 31 Tropical tree with fernlike leaves and purple flowers (9) 33 A contract by which property is conveyed to a person for a specified period, usually for rent (5) 34 The capital of Corsica, a port on the western coast (7) 35 A group of eight singers or musicians (5) 36 Things which divert attention from a topic or line of inquiry (3,8) 37 A material consisting of the skin of an animal made smooth and flexible by tanning, removing the hair etc (7)
DOWN
1 A cape on the South West coast of Spain, scene of the decisive naval battle in which Nelson was mortally wounded (9) 2 A purplish-black, partially-dried plum (5) 3 Brittle, unleavened biscuits; a traditional Scottish food (8) 4 See 25 5 An astronomical observatory in Cheshire; location of several radio telescopes (7,4) 6 A cut of beef extending from the neck to the shoulder blade (5) 7 A sentimental fondness (4,4) 8 Author of the 1847 novel Wuthering Heights (5,6) 9 A medicated tablet held in the mouth until it has dissolved (7) 12 A white wine produced in the Loire valley in France (8) 16 Geoffrey --- ---, British aviation pioneer and engineer whose company built the Moth and Mosquito aircraft (2,9) 18 European toads of sandy regions, with the male call audible over several kilometres (11) 19 A republic in North West South America colonised by Spain in the 16th Century (8) 23 2010 Clint Eastwood film starring Matt Damon (9) 24 George Eliot’s first novel, set in the community of Hayslope (4,4) 25 and 4 The --- --- --- ---, comic novel written by George and Weedon Grossmith (5,2,1,6) 26 Gottlieb ---, 19th Century German automotive pioneer (7) 28 A roll of parchment or paper, usually inscribed with writing (6) 30 A pipe or channel that carries off water, sewage etc (5) 32 A V-shaped cut or indentation; nick (5)