Crosswords and puzzles

Challenge your word power and test your IQ.

ACROSS 1. English actor, writer and member of the Monty Python group who went on to present travel documentaries including Around the World in 80 Days and Pole to Pole (5) 4. The most densely populated city in Pakistan, the capital until it was replaced with Rawalpindi and later Islamabad (7) 8. Author noted for her Inspector Wexford series and stand-alone novels including One Across, Two Down and Thirteen Steps Down (7) 12. US aviatrix and test pilot who was the first woman to fly supersonic, break the sound barrier and reach Mach 2 (7) 13. The _______; British group with musicians including Hank Marvin, Bruce Welch and Brian Bennett (7) 14. _____ of Terror; period during the French Revolution (5) 15. Country bordered by Egypt, the Gaza Strip, the Gulf of Aqaba, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria (6) 16. Novelist, scholar, poet and friend of JRR Tolkien who wrote the series of seven classic books for children, The Chronicles of Narnia (5) 17. Known collectively as a herd, a fish swimming in an upright position, genus Hippocampus; the male of which is equipped with a brood pouch (8) 20. Spanish explorer who was the first European to see the eastern shores of the Pacific Ocean when he reached the Isthmus of Panama in 1513 (6) 22. Metric unit of capacity equal to

approximately 1.75 pints (5) 23. Fibrous network of marrow-like fruit in the gourd family, dried and used as a bath sponge (6) 26. Forging tool used by farriers and blacksmiths for shaping horseshoes (5) 28. Set of paper templates used by

dressmakers and tailors (7) 30. Geological term for a narrow fissure

in a rock or wall (7) 32. Successor of Joseph Stalin who allegedly banged his shoe on his desk during a heated UN General Assembly debate in 1960 (10)

33. The scientific study of the human mind and behaviour (10) 36. Mediterranean herb used to flavour Greek lamb dishes, pizzas and bolognese sauce (7) 38. Word formed from the initial letters of other words, such as laser, radar or scuba (7) 39. According to mythology, the pantheon of Norse gods and goddesses collectively (5) 40. Children’s novelist whose popular books include The Story of Tracy Beaker, The Lottie Project and The Illustrated Mum (6)

43. One of the male attendants of a groom during a wedding ceremony (5)

45. Electronic music project founded by Michael Cretu in 1990 with singles including Return to Innocence and

Sadeness (Part I) (6) 49.1904 novel by Joseph Conrad (8)

50._____ Hits; pop music magazine launched in 1978 by Nick Logan, who also edited NME and The Face (5) 51. ______ Chile; song by Jimi Hendrix (6) 55. Named after the Greek god of the underworld, term for the deepest trenches of the ocean, greater than 6,000 metres in depth (5) 56. An alias of the character Aragorn in

The Lord of the Rings (7) 57. Essayist, poet and Whig politician who wrote Cato, a Tragedy (7)

58. The _______; three-part BBC Two TV documentary that was presented by Professor Robert Bartlett (7) 59. Area of central London, site of Hyde Park Corner, Marble Arch, Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square (4,3) 60. German Dadaist and surrealist who created The Elephant Celebes (5) DOWN 1. An alfresco meal, as depicted by Édouard Manet in his Le déjeuner sur

l’herbe ( The Luncheon on the Grass) (6) 2. The Lizard constellation (7)

3. Carry On _____; the second in a series of 30 comedy films directed by Gerald Thomas (5) 4. British equestrian, three-time Olympic medallist and two-time Badminton Horse Trials winner (4) 5. Town in New Mexico that was the scene of a crash in 1947 believed by some to have been a UFO containing extraterrestrial life (7) 6. __________ of Delphi; ancient Greek bronze statue (10) 7. Singer noted for White Wedding (4) 8. Director noted for Women in Love (7) 9. Point first reached by explorer Robert Peary and his crew in 1909 (5,4) 10. Country with the capital Asmara (7) 11. Finch with a fondness for flax (6) 18. Spanish soup served cold (8) 19. Poet Laureate from 1850 until his death in 1892 who wrote Break,

Break, Break and Tears, Idle Tears (8) 21. Musical instruments rung by Quasimodo in a classic by Victor Hugo (5)

24. A Touch of Class actress (7) 25. America’s “Empire State” (3,4) 27. Salsa _____; gremolata-like sauce based on anchovies, capers, garlic, parsley, lemon juice and olive oil (5) 29. Seat of the Dutch government, site of the International Court of Justice (3,5) 30. One of the fruits in 18 Down (8) 31. Actor who was the voice of Scar in the 1994 musical film The Lion King (5) 34. Animal resembling a cross between a giraffe and a zebra (5) 35. Inventor who took to the streets crying “Eureka” following his discovery of displacement (10) 37. Sixth-largest country by area (9)

41. The _______; film about tobacco industry whistleblower Jeffrey Wigand (7) 42. Greek goddess of retribution (7) 44. Substitute player in a sports team (7) 46. Track cycle relay event (7) 47. Steel-producing city in Liaoning (6) 48. Tudor ______; style of cap worn by doctoral graduates (6) 52. The _____; magazine founded by

Private Eye editor Richard Ingrams (5)

53. In golf, a shot which causes the ball to curve or deviate slightly (4)

54. Mrs Humphry ____; anti-suffrage activist who wrote Robert Elsmere (4)