THE PRIZE CROSSWORD
There’s an amazing £1,500 prize for the first correct solution drawn at random in our general knowledge Prize Crossword. The deadline has been extended by one week due to Christmas postal disruption.Entries must arrive by Friday, January 1 (photocopies not accepted). Today’s solution will appear on January 3 and the winner’s name on Sunday, January 17. SEE BELOW THE GRID for details on how to enter.
Across
10 Jenny – – –, comedian and former Loose Women panellist (6) 11 A reduced-rate pass for a series of events or number of journeys within a limited time (6,6) 12 A printer’s unit of measurement, equal to 12 points (4) 13 Another name for cul-desac (4,3) 14 The outermost wall, or court, of a castle (6) 15 A herring or mackerel that has been salted in brine, smoked and cured (7) 16 Technique of painting elaborated from impressionism in which dots of unmixed colour are juxtaposed on a white ground (11) 20 A town in North West Italy famous for its sparkling wine (4) 21 A place where beer or ale is produced (7) 22 A hard, glassy, red, yellow or green mineral, used as a gemstone (6) 23 A member of a people of North Africa (6) 25 A very small tube containing powdered or liquid medicine (7) 27 A spice made from the dried case round the nutmeg seed (4) 28 Actor whose film roles include the lead in 1933’s
The Invisible Man and Herod the Great in 1965’s The Greatest Story Ever Told (6,5) 29 Immature fruit of a cucumber, used for pickling (7) 32 A sharp bend or angle, especially in a road or path (6) 35 Gottlieb – – –, 19th Century German automotive pioneer (7) 36 A public place of recreation, including a pool for swimming or water sports (4) 37 American-born British sculptor knighted in 1954 (5,7) 38 An open wound in the stem of a tree or shrub, caused by injury or parasites (6)
Down
1 A small but fatal weakness (8,4) 2 Squid cut into rings and fried in batter (8) 3 A baby’s bed with enclosed sides and often a hood and rockers (6) 4 A short literary composition on a particular subject (5) 5 To observe carefully, pay close attention to (4,4) 6 A pale-coloured treacle produced by the evaporation of cane sugar juice (6,5) 7 The residual piece of a ticket or cheque (4)
8 Friedrich – – –, German poet, dramatist, historian and philosopher (8) 9 Shrub or tree native mostly to New Zealand, with evergreen leaves and clusters or flower spikes (4) 17 Archaic word for a fire in a room or a fireplace (5) 18 Offspring of one’s husband or wife from a previous relationship (12) 19 Commercial goods, commodities (11) 21 William – – –, Irishman who committed a series of murders with his accomplice William Hare in Edinburgh in 1828 (5) 24 A plain, unclarified broth or stock (8) 26 A number of reeds or whistles of graduated lengths, bound together to form a musical instrument (8) 27 State of the eastern US, on the Atlantic, the capital of which is Annapolis (8) 30 Roman lyric poet who lived during the time of Augustus, famous for his Odes (6) 31 A wide piece of cloth suspended from the neck for supporting an injured hand or arm (5) 33 An iridescent mineral found in igneous rocks, used as a gemstone (4) 34 Earl – – –, a variety of China tea flavoured with oil of bergamot (4)