GENERAL KNOWLEDGE CROSSWORD

ACROSS

7 Silver in heraldry (6) 8 English comedian born in 1986 noted for his weekly podcast with Ray Peacock (2,6) 9 Vivienne, English fashion designer noted for extending the punk movement into fashion (8) 10 Large or dense groups of

flying insects (6) 11 Nonsensical or

insincere talk (8) 12 To chant or read in a

singsong fashion (6) 13 The practice of staying regularly away from school or work without good reason (11) 18 Cliff, English actor who plays Fred Buckle in TV period drama Call The Midwife (6) 20 Extreme admiration or love for something or someone (8) 22 Country in Central America that has the shortest land border with Mexico (6) 23 West Midlands market town that is the birthplace of England ex-rugby union captain Martin Johnson (8) 24 Male bovine animals that have been castrated and are bred to produce beef (8) 25 ____ Woodall, English fashion, makeover expert and TV presenter born in 1964 (6)

DOWN

1 ____ de Vil, eccentric heiress and main villain in the novel The Hundred And One Dalmatians (7) 2 A group of people considered to be protesting irrationally as if hired to do it (4-1-3) 3 A short, leisurely walk (6) 4 A spatula for removing omelettes and the like from a pan (3,5) 5 Sudden ____ , fourth film in the Dirty Harry thriller series released in 1983 (6) 6 In the US financial support that a court orders someone to pay to a former spouse after divorce (7) 8 A medical condition in which parts of the lining of the uterus grow outside of it (13) 14 A title or form of address given to a Roman Catholic cardinal (8) 15 A bone on the thumb side of

the wrist (8) 16 Having a very important and usually negative effect on the future (7) 17 Country of origin of the bands The Corrs and The Cranberries (7) 19 A long, pointed stick formed by the freezing of dripping water from a roof (6) 21 Young, hooting

nocturnal birds (6)

SOLUTION TOMORROW