General knowledge 853

(answers in next week’s paper)

ACROSS

1 Pietro —, Italian prime minister who succeeded Mussolini and negotiated an armistice with the Allies (8) 7 In the Old Testament, a Midianite priest who became father-in-law to Moses (6) 8 A tuft of hair turned up over the forehead (5) 9 Ancient kingdom of north-east Spain (6) 10 A young bird before it has left its home (8) 13 A sheriff’s officer (8) 15 Sir Basil, British architect whose works include Sussex University (6) 18 New town in Essex on the river Stort (6) 20 In Greek mythology, a race of creatures half-man and halfhorse (8) 22 Musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein, based on Ferenc Molnar’s play Liliom (8) 24 King of Persia and son of Darius, famous for crossing the Hellespont (6) 26 Javanese technique of applying coloured designs to fabric, using wax (5) 27 The science of light and sight (6) 28 Larva of the click beetle (8)

DOWN

1 Merchant bank that collapsed due to the activities of derivatives trader Nick Leeson (7) 2 A thin porridge (5) 3 “The — phenomenon”, name given to Ninetta Crummles in Nicholas Nickleby (6) 4 US state whose capital is Lincoln (8) 5 Common name for the double-crested cormorant (4) 6 and 17. French peasant girl who became known as the Maid of Orleans (4,2,3) 11 Quantity of yarn coiled and loosely twisted (5) 12 Spirit distilled from grain or malt and flavoured with juniper (3) 14 Ancient city in Bouchesdu-Rhone department of southeastern France (5) 16 English ducal title, last borne by the eldest son of Edward VII (8) 17 See 6 19 and 20 Down. The first English printer (7,6) 20 See 19 21 Italian sausage frequently flavoured with garlic (6) 23 Fruit of a tree grown in Mediterranean countries, yielding an oil used in cookery (5) 25. An ancestress of David giving her name to an Old Testament book (4)