GENERAL KNOWLEDGE CROSSWORD

ACROSS

8 A spectacle involving swimming and diving, often with music (8) 9 ____ Magic, children’s TV show presented by Johnny Morris (6) 10 Talking doll and main antagonist in 2019 animated film Toy Story 4 (5,5) 11 ____ The Pink, 1968 hit novelty song by The Scaffold (4) 12 ____ crab, one that uses empty snail shells as protection for its body (6) 14 The most numerous type

of star in the universe (3,5) 15 Luke, teenage darts prodigy nicknamed ‘The Nuke’ (7) 17 Bill, late chef noted for popularising smashed avocado on toast (7) 20 Gemma, actress and model who played Carly Hope in Emmerdale (8) 22 Wrongful or criminal deceptions for financial or personal gain (6) 24 ____ Sikorsky, aviation pioneer known for his work on the helicopter (4) 25 Don’t ____, song by The Pretenders, released in 1986 (3,2,5) 27 ____ du Maurier, writer who created the fictional estate of Manderley (6) 28 Describing an accent characterised by precise and careful enunciation (3-5)

DOWN

1 An open, typically foursided, area flanked by buildings in a village or city (6) 2 Meat that in minced form is a traditional ingredient in shepherd’s pie (4) 3 James, Scottish radio presenter and news anchor, born in 1951 (8) 4 Racecourse in Berkshire that hosts the Coral Gold Cup (7) 5 ____ Wigley, Welsh politician who has twice served as leader of Plaid Cymru (6) 6 Fictional chocolatier created by Roald Dahl, and title character in a 2023 film (5,5) 7 Stephane, French poet

and critic born in 1842 (8) 13 A system of government ruled by a woman or women (10) 16 Necessary to make a

whole complete (8) 18 Claire, former England

footballer and TV pundit (8) 19 Come ____, expression meaning ‘to experience difficulties and fail’ (7) 21 Uninterrupted transitions

in music or film scenes (6) 23 Jim and Barbara’s daughter in The Royle Family, played by Caroline Aherne (6) 26 ____ Lenska, actress who played Claudia Colby in Coronation Street (4)

SOLUTION TOMORROW