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, February 9 (photocopies not accepted). Today’s solution will appear next week and the winner’s name on Sunday, February 25 SEE BELOW THE GRID for details on how to enter.
Across
1 Cylindrical fireworks that emit streams of coloured stars (5,7) 8 ––– Goose, a massive World War II aircraft built entirely of wood due to wartime restrictions on metals, flown only once (6) 11 Serena –––, American tennis player who has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles (8) 12 The –––, song credited to all five members of Fleetwood Mac, released in 1977 (5) 13 The adult female of a horse or zebra (4) 14 Passageway separating seating areas in a theatre or church (5) 15 Title created in 1937 for the former King Edward VIII following his abdication (4,2,7) 17 Paul –––, a founder member of The Beatles (9) 19 Early Irish monastic saint, one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland, nicknamed ‘the Navigator’ (7) 23 A raised platform used by speakers (4) 24 Someone who exercises power by virtue of wealth (9) 25 L. Frank –––, American author of The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz (4) 26 Henri de Toulouse- –––, French painter and lithographer (7) 28 Mogul emperor who built the Taj Mahal as a tomb for his wife (4,5) 31 Irish dramatist whose most famous work was Waiting For Godot (6,7) 34 Be overcome with admiration, adoration or other strong emotion (5) 36 A type of jazz singing characterised by improvised vocal sounds to imitate an instrument (4) 37 Edward –––, American playwright whose works included Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? (5) 38 Large enclosures for keeping birds in (8) 39 In Greek myths, the Muse of astronomy (6) 40 The British Poet Laureate 1999-2009 (6,6)
Down
2 Inflammation of the ear (6) 3 Nickname of the New Zealand national rugby union team (3,6) 4 A name for the pouch-like, expanded part of the oesophagus of birds (4) 5 Edible plant with round leaves and yellow, red or orange, trumpet-shaped flowers (10) 6 Matthew –––, 17th Century English Baroque composer (5) 7 Gerald –––, cartoonist who illustrated Pink Floyd’s album The Wall (6) 8 Mount –––, according to the Bible, the mountain where Moses received the Law from God (5) 9 The ninth month of the Muslim year, during which strict fasting is observed from sunrise to sunset (7) 10 Legendary Roman general of the 5th Century BC, the inspiration for a Shakespeare tragedy of the same name (10) 16 Bird of ill omen, according to British superstition (6) 18 A long period of time, era (5) 20 Climbing palm with tough stems used for wickerwork and canes (6) 21 An island republic off the East coast of Africa (10) 22 The moulded frame around a doorway or window (10) 25 A type of small pork sausage (9) 27 The administrative centre and county town of Somerset (7) 29 A small, nocturnal, burrowing rodent of the dry regions of Asia and North Africa (6) 30 A tropical citrus tree grown for its large, grapefruit-like fruit (6) 32 ––– apso, small dog of a Tibetan breed, with a long, straight, dense, coat and a well-feathered tail curled over its back (5) 33 To work and press a substance, such as dough, into a uniform mixture with the hands (5) 35 A business partnership (4)