General knowledge 799

(answers in next week’s paper)

ACROSS

1 Surname of the author of a Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases (5)

5 Colonel —, character invented by cartoonist David Low (5) 8 South American rodent related to the guinea pig (6)

9 An amulet (5) 10 Pianist and composer famous for his Hungarian Rhapsodies (5) 11 The female part of a flower (6) 13 Scene of a conference of Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin in 1945 (5)

15 Edible bivalve mollusc (6) 18 Stage name of French singer Edith Gassion (4) 19 Area of London noted especially for foreign restaurants, night clubs, etc. (4) 20 Spanish bullfighter (6) 24 Inner of two bones of the lower leg (5) 26 South American, camel-like animal bred for its long, woolly hair (6) 27 Epic poem attributed to Homer (5) 28 One of the three unions which combined to form UNISON in 1993 (5) 29 Covering as protection from the sun or weather (6) 30 Young, male ox (5) 31 Perennial, yellow-flowered kind of daisy (5)

DOWN

1 Vast system of peaks in North America (5,9)

2 In legend, the vessel used by Jesus at the Last Supper (5) 3 City in Florida, formerly known for cigar-making (5)

4 Brother of Hengist, legendary leader of the Jutes (5)

5 Australian bushman’s boiling-pan or teapot (5)

6 Extra pages inserted in a book (5) 7 Eight times champion jockey who retired in 1992 (5,9) 12 Element with antiseptic properties obtained from seaweeds etc. (6) 14 Soft, gauzy paper for use as a handkerchief etc. (6) 16 Journey or expedition for hunting (6) 17 A shoal of whales, for example (6) 21 River whose tributaries include the Moselle and the Ruhr (5) 22 A means of locating an object in space (5) 23 An aromatic herb (5) 24 Ballroom dance to music in 2/4 or 4/4 time (5) 25 Surname of the composer whose operas include The Bohemian Girl (5)