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 17 (photocopies not accepted). Today’s solution will appear next week and the winner’s name on Sunday, February 2. SEE BELOW THE GRID for details on how to enter.

Across

1 Rounded stones used for paving (7)

5 Low-growing plant with clusters of small, blue flowers (6-2-3)

10 A single oar moved from side to side over the stern of a boat to propel it (5) 11 ––– Hill, English social reformer and one of the three founders of the National Trust (7) 13 Self-catering holiday cottages available to rent in France (5)

14 A dungeon, the only entrance to which is through a trapdoor in the ceiling (9)

15 The process of taking in food and using it to support health (9) 16 A wooden or woodensoled shoe (4) 17 Measurements from an experiment (12) 20 Another term for an abominable snowman (4) 21 To break down physically and chemically, rot (9) 22 A brittle, bluish-white, metallic element used in several alloys (4) 26 Polish-British writer whose works include the novella Heart Of Darkness (6,6) 27 In the Old Testament, a bird sent out by Noah to assess water levels after the Flood (4)

29 Devices which control the quantity of fuel entering engines (9)

31 The legendary magic sword of King Arthur (9)

33 ––– Inc., technology company founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald

Wayne in 1976 (5)

34 Graeme –––, Scottish footballer who won five League Championships and three European Cups with Liverpool (7)

35 Blaenau –––, a county borough of South East Wales (5)

36 Plant with spikes of yellowish-green flowers, known since Neolithic times as the source of a yellow colouring called weld (5,6) 37 The longest river in China (7)

Down

1 A large flightless bird with a head ‘casque’, inhabiting forests in North East Australia, New Guinea and adjacent islands (9) 2 Promotional description on the jacket of a book (5) 3 A boiled sweet or toffee stuck on a small wooden stick (8)

4 Small, weasel-like mammals with brown coats and black-tipped tails (6) 5 Fictional detective priest created by G.K. Chesterton (6,5) 6 The –––, narrative poem by Edgar Allen Poe (5)

7 René –––, Belgian surrealist artist whose works include The Son Of Man (8)

8 A colourless gas with the formula NO that can be generated by lightning (6,5)

9 Infusions of dried or fresh leaves or flowers (7)

12 Policy of taking direct, often militant, action to achieve change (8)

16 A sudden, extensive or notable disaster or misfortune (11)

18 A prepared position for the siting of a gun or other weapon (11) 19 In classical mythology, a hero noted for his great strength and courage and for the performance of 12 immense labours (8) 23 Short, tightly-rolled cylinder of tobacco wrapped in thin paper (9)

24 Descriptive words or phrases added to, or substituted for, a person’s name (8)

25 A rough, lawless young person (8)

26 Northern European peninsula, scene of a major naval battle between British and German fleets in 1916 (7) 28 Sean –––, Irish dramatist and socialist whose works include Juno And The Paycock (6)

30 ––– Anansie, Britrock band formed in 1994 (5)

32 David –––: Life On The Road, 2016 mocumentary directed by and starring Ricky Gervais (5)