CROSSWORD NO 1,884 ★ £500 TO BE WON

TO ENTER Complete the crossword and count how many times the letter ‘A’ appears in the grid. Text YOU followed by a space, your answer (the number of ‘A’s) and name to 65700, eg, YOU 9 Sue Smith. Texts cost £1 plus your standard network rate. Or telephone 0905 652 2141 and leave your answer and details. Calls cost £1 plus your telephone company’s network access charge. Or post your entry to

YOU Crossword No 1,884, PO Box 3451, Norwich NR7 7NR. Entries will be accepted until 11.59pm on Friday 22 December. One random winner from all correct entries will win £250 and five runners-up will win £50 each. If you enter after the closing date you will not be included but may still be charged. Phone and text helpline: 0330 100 0601. Winners will be notified by phone within 14 days. Solution in two weeks.

ACROSS

7 Notified, tipped off (7)

8 Character played by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz (7) 10 (and 26 across) Start of a famous speech by

19 across in 15,20 across (3,7,2,5)

11 The longest river in the world (4)

12 Presumptuous, impertinent (8)

14 Bureau, office (6)

15 (and 20 across) Play by William Shakespeare (3,8,2,6)

19 Character in

15,20 across (6)

20 See 15 across 22 Elevated, lofty, tall (4)

23 As found in George Orwell’s 1984 (3,7)

25 Candidly (7) 26 See 10 across

DOWN

1 The process that sought to transmute base metals into gold (7)

2 Country defeated in the 1991 Gulf War (4)

3 Danger (6)

4 Person of great and varied learning (8)

5 Late British rock star (4,6)

6 Character in

15,20 across (7)

9 Late Danish musician and comedian – got over crib (rearrange) (6,5)

13 Unhooking, unfastening (10)

16 Shaped minced beef or a stupid person in North American slang (8)

17 The art of

trimming bushes or trees into shapes (7)

18 ‘_______ never solves a problem without creating ten more’: George Bernard Shaw (7)

21 Authenticate, prove (6)

24 Branch headquarters? (4)