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, September 13 (photocopies not accepted). Today’s solution will appear next week and the winner’s name on Sunday, September 29. SEE BELOW THE GRID for details on how to enter.
Across
11 Great academic knowledge (9) 12 A narrow, horn-shaped drinking glass, holding between two and three pints of beer (4,2,3) 13 Lively Scottish dances for a fixed number of couples (5) 14 A breed of toy dog with a very long, straight, silky, white coat (7) 15 The 18th letter of the Greek alphabet (5) 16 Male singers of sentimental love songs, especially of the 1930s and ’40s (8) 18 Not consecrated or holy (10) 22 Object usually in the shape of a man, used to frighten birds away from crops (9) 24 The King of Jordan 1952-1999 (7) 27 Part of the day from late afternoon until nightfall (7) 28 A poisonous, inedible fungus (9) 30 Colombian cyclist who won the 2019 Tour de France (4,6) 32 Sardinian port city described by D. H. Lawrence in his travel memoire Sea And Sardinia (8) 35 ––– Castle, Tudor mansion in Kent, home of Anne Boleyn before her marriage (5) 37 Andrew –––, 17th Century English metaphysical poet whose works included To His Coy Mistress (7) 38 Geoff –––, footballer who scored a hat-trick for England in the 1966 World Cup final (5) 39 Plum-like green fruit cultivated from a type of tree brought to England from France (9) 40 The ship in which the Pilgrim Fathers sailed from Plymouth to the New World in 1620 (9)
Down
1 Joseph –––, 19th Century Englishman who was nicknamed the Elephant Man (7) 2 In the Old Testament, a female ruler who took King Solomon valuable gifts (5,2,5) 3 Morally wrong behaviours (4) 4 Hans –––, film score composer who wrote the music for The Lion King and Gladiator (6) 5 The joint connecting the leg and the foot (5) 6 A metropolitan county of North East England (4,3,4) 7 Another name for the Irish Gaelic language (4) 8 A small slice or mouthful of food (6) 9 Douglas –––, commander in chief of the British forces in France during most of the First World War (4) 10 Greater –––, plant of the poppy family with bright yellow flowers, also known as swallow wort (9) 17 Acronymic name for an organisation providing canteens and shops for British military personnel (5) 19 The –––, Test cricket series played between England and Australia (5) 20 Small, open carts used for carrying things, especially in the garden (12) 21 A village in South Scotland, on the border with England, location of a famous smithy where eloping couples were married (6,5) 23 Edward ---, English composer whose works include the Enigma Variations (5) 25 The capital of South Korea, located on the Han River (5) 26 A heat of a rowing competition in which eliminated contestants have another chance to qualify for the next round (9) 29 HMS –––, Lord Nelson’s flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar (7) 31 ––– Strait, a sea channel between Alaska and Russia (6) 33 Metallic materials consisting of a mixture of two or more metals (6) 34 Quantities of sheets of paper (5) 36 A scene or prospect, as of a landscape (4) 37 In the Old Testament, an ancient kingdom east of the Dead Sea (4) 38 The burrowed lair of an animal, especially an otter (4)