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, December 21 (photocopies not accepted). Today’s solution will appear on December 30 and the winner’s name on Sunday, January 6. SEE BELOW THE GRID for details on how to enter.
ACROSS
1 A person or animal that is confined or restrained, prisoner (7) 5 Shrub or tree with dense spikes of large, red flowers with protruding stamens (11) 10 A type of Japanese comic book, often for adults (5) 11 The capital of Ontario, Canada (7) 13 An ornamental headdress worn by a sovereign (5) 14 Of undisputed origin or authorship, genuine (9) 15 1851 opera by Giuseppe Verdi, based on a play by Victor Hugo (9) 16 A long piece of potato fried in deep fat (4) 17 Collectively, the wheeled vehicles used on a railway (7,5) 20 A class, group or kind (4) 21 The southernmost region of South America, in Argentina and Chile, extending from the Andes to the Atlantic (9) 22 James – – –, fictional spy created by Ian Fleming in 1953 (4) 26 The – – –, organisation consisting of the United Kingdom and most of the countries that were previously under its rule (12) 27 A small, spiny-finned fish with its ventral fins modified as a sucker (4) 29 Refrained from voting (9) 31 A member of a society founded in Ireland in 1795 to uphold the Protestant religion (9) 33 Auguste – – –, French philosopher and writer who founded positivism (5) 34 A person or group that provides funds for an activity (7) 35 – – – board, a board marked with letters, numbers and symbols, used at a séance (5) 36 Relating to breathing (11) 37 A section of a fruit such as an orange or grapefruit (7)
DOWN
1 Instruments used for drawing circles and measuring distances, consisting of two arms, joined at one end (9) 2 – – – Grigio, a variety of grape grown for wine-making (5) 3 American novelist whose works included Rosemary’s Baby and The Stepford Wives (3,5) 4 A large piece of landed property (6) 5 The 44th President of the United States (6,5) 6 A powdered chemical used in photocopying machines and laser printers (5) 7 A sudden and adverse reaction to a political or social development (8) 8 The quality of being unconventional in belief, behaviour or custom (11) 9 Tony – – –, 20th Century comedian and actor known for TV sketches including The Blood Donor (7) 12 A fine and slightly stiff cotton fabric, used especially for dresses (8) 16 Thread-like structures carrying genetic information (11) 18 Chief architect of the Russian Revolution, assassinated in Mexico in 1940 (4,7) 19 Shore birds, usually with crested heads (8) 23 A person accused of breaking the law, being tried in court (9) 24 Nadia – – –, Romanian gymnast, the first competitor awarded a perfect score of 10 in an Olympic gymnastic event (8) 25 Special Administrative Region of China, situated on the South Coast (4,4) 26 British TV series set in the Eighties, starring Clive Owen (7) 28 Lewis and – – –, island in the Outer Hebrides, separated from the North West Coast of Scotland by the Minch (6) 30 A generic Italian term for a cathedral (5) 32 A fabric, usually silk, having a rippled appearance (5)