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, May 31 (photocopies not accepted). Today’s solution will appear next week and the winner’s name on Sunday, June 16. SEE BELOW THE GRID for details on how to enter.

Across

1 19th-Century Russian dramatist who wrote A Month In The Country (4,8) 8 Variant of rugby union played with smaller teams and shorter halves (6)

11 Alistair ---, British athlete who won triathlon gold medals at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics (8)

12 A deep ravine, especially one through which a river runs (5)

13 --- tide, either of the two tides that occur at the first or last quarter of the moon (4)

14 (Of animals and plants) existing in a wild or uncultivated state (5)

15 The --- ---, 1942 film based on a novel by Dashiell Hammett (7,6)

17 An ungenerous or

miserly person (9)

19 In the Old Testament, the founder of the

Hebrew people (7)

23 An abnormal membranous

sac or blister (4)

24 US state, known as

The Pelican State, whose capital is Baton Rouge (9) 25 In falconry, a short leather strap attached to the leg of a bird (4)

26 P. L. ---, Australian-born novelist who created

Mary Poppins (7) 28 Recognition of the realities, possibilities or requirements of a situation after its occurrence (9)

31 Range of peaks demarcating a long part of the FrenchSwiss border (4,9)

34 Any of various natural

brown earths (5)

36 Stead or place (4)

37 A decree or order issued

by a sovereign or state (5)

38 A thin slice of meat, often veal, coated with breadcrumbs and fried (8)

39 In the existing state

of affairs (2,2,2)

40 A book of the Old

Testament, probably written about 250BC (12) Down

2 A church official who acts as

caretaker and attendant (6)

3 A town in West Suffolk; famous horse-racing centre (9)

4 --- Bug Ball, song sung by Burl Ives in the 1963 film Summer Magic (4)

5 Makes a great effort to achieve or obtain something (4,3,3)

6 Tender Is The ---, 1934 novel

by F. Scott Fitzgerald (5)

7 Historic city in Lombardy, northern Italy, near a lake of the same name (6)

8 A projecting layer of ice or rock on land or in the sea (5) 9 Tropical climbing orchid, the long fleshy pods of which contain seeds used to flavour food (7)

10 New Zealand crime writer and theatre director who created detective Roderick Alleyn (5,5)

16 Person who fishes with

a rod and line (6)

18 A native-born citizen of the US or Canada whose parents were Japanese immigrants (5)

20 1983 single by Michael Jackson, taken from his album Thriller (4,2)

21 Another name for

fluid mechanics (10)

22 An ornamental stand

for plants (10)

25 British actor, knighted in

1976, whose films include Great Expectations (4,5)

27 A bridge carrying a road or

railway across a valley (7)

29 Plant with crisp, curly leaves,

used in salads (6)

30 Shirley ---, Hollywood child

star of the 1930s (6)

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

33 Member of an indigenous Mexican people who established a great empire (5) 35 Nutrient-rich berry growing on palm trees in Brazilian rainforests (4)