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 28 (photocopies not accepted). Today’s solution will appear next week and the winner’s name on Sunday, February 13. SEE BELOW THE GRID for details on how to enter.

Across

11 In a state or period of weakness or decline (2,1,3,3)

12 Another name for the

Lord’s Prayer (3,6)

13 A two-masted sailing vessel with a tall mainmast and a shorter mizzen mast (5)

14 In Greek mythology, the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra (7)

15 John ---, Oscar-winning American actor who starred in many Western movies (5)

16 Any living biological entity, such as an animal, plant or fungus (8)

18 Luxury establishment on the Strand in London, built by the impresario Richard D’Oyly Carte (5,5)

22 Seaport in Northwest

Florida, on an inlet of the

Gulf of Mexico (9)

24 A talk on a particular subject given to an audience, especially at a university or college (7) 27 Character in The Arabian Nights’ Entertainments who discovers the treasure of the Forty Thieves (3,4) 28 Something that gives one person or group an advantage over another (5,4) 30 Large fruit with a hard green rind and sweet reddish flesh (10) 32 A strong-scented bushy perennial plant formerly used in medicine (8)

35 The Spy Who --- Me, 1977 film starring Roger Moore as James Bond (5)

37 A person who amuses others by ridiculous or odd behaviour (7)

38 Tycho ---, Danish astronomer who designed and constructed instruments to plot the positions of the stars (5)

39 Ease in using language

to best effect (9)

40 A fall of large masses of snow and ice down a mountain (9)

Down

1 Shirley ---, American author of the 1959 novel The Haunting Of Hill House (7)

2 A position that allows one a wide or favourable overall view of a scene or situation (7,5)

3 Scottish word for lake (4)

4 In classical mythology, a Trojan prince who escaped the sack of Troy (6)

5 Woburn ---, mansion in Bedfordshire, the seat of the Duke of Bedford (5)

6 16th-Century French physician and astrologer, author of a book of prophecies (11)

7 An elaborate accompanied song for a solo voice from a cantata, opera or oratorio (4)

8 --- --- pedal, device attached to an electronic musical instrument to create a particular sound (3-3)

9 Nautical hail used to call a ship or to attract attention (4)

10 Hospital attendants who assist nursing and medical staff (9)

17 A person skilled in a Japanese martial art characterised by stealthy movement and camouflage (5)

19 Woodland plant with small, drooping, pale yellow flowers (5)

20 Annual men’s multiple-stage bicycle race finishing on the Champs-Élysées in Paris (4,2,6)

21 Surname of the French inventor brothers who built and ascended in the first practical hot-air balloon (11)

23 Traditional saying

or proverb (5)

25 An unenclosed area of land where wild animals are preserved to be hunted (5)

26 Person who crosses a street

recklessly or illegally (9)

29 In football, a player who is positioned behind the main defenders, in front of the goalkeeper (7)

31 The outer and shorter of the two bones of the human forearm (6)

33 A group or series

of nine (6)

34 A white mineral occurring in alkaline soils and salt deposits (5)

36 A musical instrument with six strings and a flat back, held between the knees when played (4)

37 A stopper, especially of

cork or rubber (4)

38 The projecting jaws

of a bird (4)