GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

Across

1. Native planet of Superman (7)

5. Scottish engineer who invented an improved steam engine in 1781 (4)

7. Term for the two outer layers of the skin, dermis and epidermis (5)

10. Series of three wars between Rome and Carthage from 264 BC to 146 BC which resulted in the destruction of Carthage (5)

11. Town founded in 1968 to house construction workers on the Upper Waitaki Hydroelectric Scheme (6)

12. __ Vale, residential district in northern Paddington, West London (5)

13. Pacific plant whose roots produce an intoxicating drink (4)

15. Little __: singer who had a 1962 hit with The Loco-Motion (3)

17. Smallest and weakest of a litter (4)

19. Skewered, grilled meat served with a peanut sauce (5)

20. Areas of longer grass beside the fairway on a golf course (5)

21. Surname of actress, singer and dancer born Virginia Katherine McMath in 1911 (6)

22. American teen comedy series, 2011-2016 (7)

24. “I like the dreams of the __ better than the history of the past”: Thomas Jefferson (6)

25. “Neither __ or sarcasm is argument”: Samuel Butler (5)

26. Spanish and Portuguese word for donkey (5)

28. Month in which Black Friday falls in the United States (8)

30. Nickname for New York, popularised by sports writer John J. FitzGerald in the 1920s (3,5)

32. In Greek myth, the daughter of Pan and Echo (5)

34. Scotsman who was manager of Manchester United between 1945 and 1969 (5)

36. A senior pupil given extra authority over other school pupils (7)

38. Second most populous city in Pakistan (6)

39. Feather attached to the bonnet of a Scottish soldier (6)

40. Style of Japanese paper used in craftwork (5)

41. French word for thank you (5)

42. Queen dowager of Jordan who was the fourth wife of King Hussein (4)

44. Towards the rear of a ship (3)

46. A micro-organism which causes disease (4)

48. “You’re never a __ until you quit trying”: US football player and coach Mike Ditka (5)

49. Lead ballerina role in Tchaikovsky’s ballet Swan Lake (6)

50. The __ Rover: folk song about an (improbable) sailing ship (5)

51. Card game based on collecting sequences, often played with two decks (5)

52. Selina __: Catwoman’s name in ordinary life (4)

53. “A man may die, __ may rise and fall, but an idea lives on”: John F. Kennedy (7)

Down

2. In feudal Japan, a lordless wandering samurai (5)

3. Unit of capactiy for dry goods equal to a quarter of a bushel or two imperial gallons (4)

4. Sister-in-law character in Anton Chekov’s play Three Sisters (7)

5. James _____: English confectioner who moved to Christchurch in 1890 (9)

6. Playing piece in a game of Scrabble (4)

7. State of prolonged unconsciousness (4)

8. Number of people in attendance at Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper (8)

9. Seating in the front, lower section of a theatre, closest to the stage (6)

10. Fishing village and holiday resort on the Italian Riviera (9)

14. An angle of less than 90 degrees (5)

16. Italian composer of operas Otello and Falstaff (5)

18. The Wrong __, 1993 film featuring Wallace and Gromit (8)

23. Sun-dried clay brick (5)

26. Devon fishing village which features a replica of Sir Francis Drake’s ship, The Golden Hind (7)

27. Australian prison drama series first broadcast in 2013 (9)

29. Popular flavouring in many cuisines that can also be scattered in the pantry to repel moths, flies and cockroaches (7)

31. Publisher of children’s books whose parent organisation is Penguin Books (6)

33. Queen of Denmark since 1972 (9)

35. Personification of the United States (5,3)

37. Vertical part of a stair or step (5)

39. Large monkey known for its roaring cry (6)

40. Dabbling duck with three species, Eurasian, American and Chiloe (6)

43. Vegetable featured in the Middle Eastern dish dopiaza (5)

44. ___ Dreamers, 1980 song by Kate Bush (4)

45. Peregrin __, Tolkien character also known as Pippin (4)

47. Canal du ___, 240km canal in southern France (4)