SOWETAN CROSSWORD 2449

ACROSS 1 Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (5) 4 Having a keen edge suitable for cutting (5) 7 Having the shape of a sphere or a ball (5) 9 A shallow pit holding sand for children to play in (7) 10 One who illegally enters buildings and steals things (7) 11 A lever that activates the firing mechanism of a firearm (7) 15 Pudding (7) 18 Injurious (7) 20 A hermit (7) 21 A company that supplies milk and milk products (5) 22 Containing nothing (5) 23 Existing or coming before in time, order or importance (5)

DOWN 1 A woody plant smaller than a tree and having several stems (5) 2 The eleventh sign of the zodiac (8) 3 A large, dry, barren region (6) 5 A flogging (6) 6 Pots, dishes and other articles made of fired clay (7) 8 Strike out or remove (6) 12 Naturally inherent; innate (6) 13 Writing or drawings scribbled or painted illicitly on walls (8) 14 Hostile; unfavourable (7) 16 To practise sculpture (6) 17 Separate grain or seeds from plant by beating with a flail (6) 19 Tier (5)