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 17 (photocopies not accepted). Today’s solution will appear next week and the winner’s name on Sunday, October 3. SEE BELOW THE GRID for details on how to enter.

Across

1 American inventor who developed the phonograph and the electric light bulb (6,6)

8 A salted and cured side of pork (6)

11 The human hips or the fleshy hindquarters of an animal (8)

12 Anything unused or not

used to full advantage (5)

13 An easy victory (4)

14 W. H. – – –, Anglo-American poet, critic and librettist who wrote Funeral Blues or Stop All The Clocks (5)

15 A large Australian lizard with an erectile frill around the neck (7,6)

17 A dispute between opposing parties which may be resolved by a court (5,4)

19 See 7 Down

23 Robert –––, English playwright and Oscarwinning screenwriter (4)

24 A person employed

to drive a car (9)

25 See 37

26 P. L. – – –, Australian-born novelist who created Mary Poppins (7)

28 A large, stately tomb (9)

31 World Cup-winning England footballer who was European Footballer of the Year 1966 (5,8)

34 A hard-wearing cotton fabric whose name refers to a French city (5)

36 ––– water, a fizzy drink made by charging water with carbon dioxide under pressure (4)

37 and 25 A legendary English outlaw of the reign of Richard I (5,4)

38 The sections into which a serialised novel or radio or TV programme is divided (8)

39 Groups of baby birds (6)

40 The first President of Russia, who served from 1991-99 (5,7)

Down

2 A break or gap where something is missing (6)

3 A mixture of dried fruit and spices used especially for filling pies (9)

4 A district of Central London in the City of Westminster, chiefly known for its restaurants and clubs (4)

5 A loose outer garment with wide sleeves and no buttons, popular in the 20th Century (6,4)

6 A drain or pipe, especially underground, used to carry away surface water or waste matter (5)

7 and 19 Across Captain of the England Test cricket team from 1999 to 2003 (6,7)

8 Sigmund –––, Austrian psychiatrist famous for his development of psychoanalysis (5)

9 Invasions or hostile attacks (7)

10 In printing, someone who sets and corrects type and assembles text and illustrations (10)

16 Term for a local sailor employed on a European ship in the Indian Ocean (6)

18 The capital and largest city of Bulgaria (5)

20 Badly behaved or difficult to control (6)

21 Title of respect used to address a circuit judge (4,6)

22 American track and field athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics (5,5)

25 A woman’s loose, robelike, informal garment (9)

27 In music, a slight, rapid and regular fluctuation in the pitch of a note (7)

29 Tree native to Africa, with a very thick trunk and gourd-like fruit called monkey bread (6)

30 1980s BBC sitcom set in Maplins holiday camp (2-2-2)

32 The Roman goddess of agriculture (5)

33 A passenger ship or aircraft (5)

35 A small, high-pitched flute similar to the piccolo, usually having no keys (4)