THE PRIZE CROSSWORD

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 4 (photocopies not accepted). Today’s solution will appear next week and the winner’s name on Sunday, January 27. SEE BELOW THE GRID for details on how to enter.

ACROSS

11 A thistle-like plant cultivated for its large, edible flower head (9) 12 Noticeable in an undesirable way (9) 13 A frame upon which clothes are hung to dry after washing (5) 14 Coniferous shrub or small tree with purple, berry-like cones, used to flavour gin (7) 15 The Fast And The Furious: – – – Drift; third film in the franchise (5) 16 Hats with the brim folded up against the crown to form three sides (8) 18 In dancing, body spins on the toes or ball of the foot (10) 22 William Ewart – – –, British Liberal statesman who served as Prime Minister four times in the 19th Century (9) 24 People who pay rent in return for accommodation in someone else’s house (7) 27 Person on a ship who keeps watch against danger (7) 28 A course of hors d’oeuvres in an Italian meal (9) 30 A man who dislikes women (10) 32 An island in West Scotland, in the Inner Hebrides (8) 35 In Mexican cookery, a piece of tortilla topped with cheese and hot peppers (5) 37 American comedian and actor who was born in England and died aged 100 in 2003 (3,4) 38 A metal spike that is driven into a climbing surface in order to secure a rope (5) 39 – – – cord, the long, flexible tube connecting an unborn baby with the placenta (9) 40 A port in North East Ohio, USA, on Lake Erie (9)

DOWN

1 People of great learning, sages (7) 2 British former racing driver who was runner-up four times in the Formula One World Championship (8,4) 3 Mark left on the skin following the healing of a wound (4) 4 A thin strip of fish or chicken, coated in breadcrumbs and deep fried (6) 5 Pasta in the form of short tubes (5) 6 Remarks expressing approval, admiration or respect (11) 7 – – – It Up, song composed by Bob Marley (4) 8 A pad or frame worn by women in the late 19th Century to puff out their skirts at the back (6) 9 Graeme – – –, former England cricketer who scored more than 40,000 first-class runs (4) 10 Take back ownership of property for non-payment of money due (9) 17 A region of New Zealand, on South Island (5) 19 Woodland plant with clusters of yellow flowers on a long stem (5) 20 Murder mystery play by Agatha Christie running in the West End since 1952 (3,9) 21 Czech athlete, a former world record holder in the decathlon (5,6) 23 Smooth glossy fabric of silk or rayon (5) 25 A place or event at which people dance to pop music (5) 26 A light, malleable, silverywhite metallic element (9) 29 Highly poisonous chemical compound (7) 31 In cricket, an off break bowled with a leg break action (6) 33 The former basic stage of the General Certificate of Education, replaced by GCSE (1,5) 34 Marine snail with a triangular, wide-lipped shell (5) 36 Caribbean republic whose president is Miguel DíazCanel (4) 37 Name given to a male goat, rabbit or kangaroo (4) 38 An animal hunted or captured by another for food (4)