CODE CRACKER
To win one of three prizes of $100, work out which number represents which letter. All letters of the alphabet appear at least once. Fill in the coloured boxes at the bottom to reveal our prize word. Write this answer on the entry coupon.
ACROSS
1 Dress (5)
4 Technology company founded by the late Steve Jobs (5) 6 Non-committal shoulder gesture (5) 9 Freedom (7)
12 Forthright and intrepid (4) 13 Keen, enthusiastic (5)
14 Love is in the Air singer (4,4,5) 15 – Summer, late disco diva (5) 16 Operative who infiltrates a rival organisation (4) 17 Shade of colour (3)
18 Shout of support or approval (5) 22 Ongoing animosity (4) 24 Rolling wave (5)
25 False (6)
27 Prepares text for publication (5) 28 Edith –, French diva (4) 29 Reeded wind instrument played by jazz greats such as John Coltrane and Charlie Parker (9) 33 Remove impurities (6) 35 Educate, enlighten (5)
36 – Green, actress (3) 37 Compulsion (4)
39 Audacity (5)
40 – of March, fateful day for Julius Caesar (4)
41 – Fisher, actress (4)
42 Grand –, balletic leap (4) 43 Atmospheric gas layer (5) 44 Plan, scheme (4)
46 City in Yorkshire, England (5) 47 Top boxing division (11) 52 Mikhail –, last President of the Soviet Union (9)
54 – Mansfield, 1950s/’60s Hollywood actress (5) 56 Rugby code played by Brisbane Broncos (6) 57 Coloured part of the eye (4) 58 Desert waterhole (5)
60 Dove sound (3)
61 Pointing finger (5) 63 Christmas song (5)
64 Male domestic fowl (7) 65 Recurring chord progression in a rock song (4) 67 Scuttling crustacean (4) 69 Calcium carbonate (9) 73 Productive chicken (5) 74 Opposable digit (5) 75 Ice-cream container (3) 76 Dismissed in cricket (3) 77 Archery missile (5) 78 Outspoken (5)
80 Person living nearby (9) 83 Nobleman’s title (4) 84 Exchange (4)
87 Direct transport service with few interim stops (7)
89 Basic bed-linen item (5) 90 Follower of Vedic scriptures (5) 92 Plague rodent (3)
93 – Horan, Irish-born member of One Direction (5)
94 Orinoco Flow singer (4) 96 Artist’s workplace (6) 98 Centre of attention (5) 100 Knitted face-mask (9)
104 The Bard of Avon (11) 107 Medicinal drink (5)
109 Fine powder or dirt (4) 111 Cavalry sword (5)
112 Home and –, long-running drama series set in Summer Bay (4) 114 Stagger, swoon (4) 116 Galvanising metallic element (4) 117 Change gears in a car (5) 118 Statistical information (4) 119 – Stewart, Ray Meagher role (3) 121 Adam –, TV presenter (5) 122 Ireland’s capital (6) 123 Instant, without delay (9) 124 European mountain goat (4) 125 Simple stone-hurling weapon (5) 127 Number-placing puzzle (6) 131 Show-off (5)
133 Rounded roof structure (4) 135 – Witherspoon, actress (5) 137 Mahershala –, actor (3)
139 – Musk, sustainable energy entrepreneur (4) 140 Electronic message (5)
141 Sea between Africa and Europe (13)
143 Steve Irwin’s widow (5) 144 Talon (4) 145 Self-contradictory statement (7) 146 Value, virtue (5)
147 Vacant (5)
148 Cute aquatic mammal (5)
DOWN
1 Painting on wet plaster (6) 2 Thin French pancake (5) 3 Indonesian island famed for its ‘dragon’ lizard (6) 4 Descriptive word (9) 5 Highly qualified person (6) 6 Ignore, wilfully avoid (4) 7 Simple poetry technique (5) 8 Wildebeest (3) 9 Maritime beacon (10) 10 Effective distance (5) 11 Annual (6)
15 Zooey –, actress (9) 19 James Cook’s vessel (9) 20 Kate –, actress, radio presenter and children’s author (7) 21 Large bovine creature (7) 22 Shortest month (8)
23 Male duck (5)
26 Council levies (5) 30 Retailer of plants and gardening supplies (7) 31 Mighty, powerful (6) 32 Deliver a sermon (6)
34 State of disorder (4) 38 Megan –, model (4) 44 Meringue-based dessert (7) 45 Violent hooligan (4) 48 Chopping tool (3)
49 Armed conflict (3) 50 Six-legged arthropod (6) 51 Air-cushioned vehicle (10) 53 Valuable possession or attribute (5)
54 Prison (4)
55 Name before marriage (3) 59 Tempest (5)
60 Freight (5)
62 – Ridley, actress (5) 64 Kinfolk (9) 66 Pyrotechnics (9) 68 Whitening chemical (6) 70 Delicately clever (6)
71 Arm joint (5)
72 Circus buffoon (5) 75 Unlucky Friday (10) 79 Series of links (5) 81 Lacking suitable skills (5) 82 Theatrical production with sung dialogue (5)
85 Run of success or luck (6) 86 Circus tumbler (7)
88 Frantic alarm (5)
89 Maths problems (4) 91 Wedding vow (1,2) 95 Affirmative response (3) 96 Health resort (3) 97 Employed or exploited (4) 99 Prove or assert to be correct (7) 101 Abundant and luxurious (6) 102 Emergency vehicle (9) 103 Opposed, disinclined (6) 105 Idris –, actor (4)
106 Surfers –, Gold Coast tourist destination (8)
107 Fling (4)
108 Major regional church (9) 110 Controversial radioactive mineral element (7) 111 Academic (7) 113 Disappointing finale (10)
115 Fix firmly in place (5) 118 Old-fashioned, obsolete (5) 120 Radio tuning code (9) 126 Maintenance (6) 128 Elaborately adorned (6) 129 Political catchphrase (6) 130 More advanced in years (6) 132 Ringo –, the Beatles’ drummer (5)
134 Engine (5)
136 Choose by ballot (5)
138 Ridge on a guitar fingerboard (4)
142 Poorly lit (3)