CROSSWORD

No 1,582

TO ENTER Complete the crossword and count how many times the letter ‘X’ appears in the grid. Post your entry to YOU Crossword No 1,582, PO Box 5332, Cardiff Lane, Dublin 2. Closing date is Friday, March 2. One random winner from all correct entries will win €100 and five runners-up will win €25 each. Winners will be notified within 14 days. Solution in two weeks

ACROSS

1 Process of getting something ready for use (11)

7 Fish you might pay for on receipt? (3) 9 Exposed (5) 10 Correction, alteration (9) 11 Outside (8) 12 Assignations, secret meetings (6)

14 Doubtful, cynical (9)

15 Parliamentary constituencies (5)

17 Dissenter, mutineer (5)

19 (and 28 across) German composer (1854-1921) (9,11)

21 (and 3 down) Opera for which 19, 28 across is best known (6,3,6)

23 Extremists, revolutionaries (8)

25 Ancient Egyptian queen (9)

26 820-mile long European river (5)

27 So far, up until now (3)

28 See 19 across

DOWN

1 Senior university teacher (9) 2 Allow, enable (7) 3 See 21 across 4 Masses of snow that fall down mountains (10) 5 Wild goat (4) 6 Lowest point (5) 7 London football club (7)

8 Fruit in history? (5)

13 Copy or steal words or ideas from another writer (10)

15 Served in the army (9)

16 In a manner of speaking; as it were (2,2,5)

18 Advantage, profit (7)

20 Act of escaping – especially from a distasteful duty – by trickery, cunning or illegal means (7)

21 Food produced by bees (5)

22 Third planet from the Sun (5)

24 Movie, picture (4)