FRIDAY CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1 Virginia Woolf’s elder sister whose home at Charleston was a retreat for the Bloomsbury set; an artist in the Abstract style whose paintings include Flowers in a Ginger Jar and Cotton, Lavender and Quinces (4)

3 Also known as lily of the Nile, a herbaceous perennial in a subdivided family including amaryllis, daffodils, snowdrops and alliums (10) 9 Staple food with varieties including brioche, ciabatta, focaccia, pumpernickel, roti and sourdough; or, one of the sitcoms by Carla Lane (5)

13 Depicted on the logos of the Woodland Trust and the National Trust, a photosynthesis organ of the acorn-bearing tree Quercus (3,4)

14 Guinness World _______; conceived in 1954 as a book of facts to solve arguments in pubs, a reference book published annually, often given at Christmas (7)

15 From the Ancient Greek meaning “reason”, a method of rational thinking as originated by philosopher Aristotle (5) 16 Landlocked Himalayan country with the capital Kathmandu, home to eight of the world’s ten tallest mountains and to the endangered snow leopard (5)

17 Duelling swords used in conjunction with electrically-conductive lamés in competitive fencing (5)

18 Historic part of Cambridgeshire that was only accessible by boat until the waterlogged Fens were drained in the 17th century (4,2,3)

19 Comedian who created Shooting Stars and House Of Fools with his double-act partner Bob Mortimer (6)

21 Forming the coastal columns of the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland, a type of igneous rock that was used to make neolithic ground stone tools (6)

22 Impressionist noted for combinations of complementary colours in paintings including Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette, A Girl with a Watering Can, The Skiff (La Yole) and Oarsmen at Chatou (6) 26 Pen name of the Japanese author who wrote Forbidden Colours and the Sea of Fertility tetralogy; a nationalist who committed seppuku in 1970 (7)

27 _______ Suite; composition in seven parts for full orchestra by Edward Elgar (7)

28 The sacred lotus in Hinduism and Buddhism; or, a branch of the Ganges (5)

29 The constellation Ursa Minor (6,4)

32 Region of Antarctica where Luc Jacquet filmed March of the Penguins (6,4)

34 Structures built by birds, insects and mammals including primates – eyries, nides, dreys and so on (5)

35 John Lennon’s best-selling single (7)

37 _______: A Brief History of Humankind; 2014 book by Yuval Harari (7)

39 Danish seafarer who discovered Alaska and a strait of the Pacific separating Russia from North America (6)

41 Legs of lamb for roasting (6)

42 Expressions with figurative or peculiar

meanings – “piece of cake”, “bed of roses”, “apple of one’s eye” to name a few (6)

45 Natural disaster; one of the risks of off-piste skiing and mountaineering (9)

48 French river flowing from the Swiss Alps to the Mediterranean Sea (5)

49 Vehicle for delivering milk; a plasterer’s trowel; item attached to a fishing line; or, a fizzy drink with a scoop of ice cream (5)

51 Once known as an African unicorn, a herbivore resembling a cross between a giraffe and a zebra (5)

52 — Man; 1965 Beatles song (7)

53 French island where Napoleon Bonaparte was born, site of the picturesque old town PortoVecchio (7)

54 King of the Germans 936–73, a son of Henry the Fowler and Matilda of Ringelheim (4,1)

55 Workroom where one might find test tubes, pipettes, microscopes, petri dishes and Bunsen burners (10)

56 Abbreviation for the factors that highlight products or companies from their competitors (1,1,1,1)

DOWN

1 Colour of chopping board used for preparing vegetables in a professional kitchen; or, the landscape architect known as the Omnipotent Magician (5)

2 Coleridge, Southey and Wordsworth considered collectively (4,5)

4 Senior electrician of a television or film studio; or, a master glass-blower (6)

5 Ceramic material used to make items manufactured at a factory in Sèvres (9)

6 Name of the lost Fabergé egg with an interior designed as an étui (10)

7 Cloth handwoven in the homes of Outer Hebridean “guardians of the orb” (6,5)

8 Fibre used to make dartboards (5)

9 Helium- or oxygen-filled bag (7)

10 Bird symbol of Jupiter (Jove) (5)

11 Metrical unit of verse of three syllables – one long followed by two short (like the parts of a finger) (6)

12 The Painted ____; W. Somerset Maugham novel adapted into a film with Naomi Watts and Edward Norton (4)

19 Activity of walking in the countryside; or, description of a climbing rose (8)

20 Town in Piedmont, west of Turin (7)

22 Another name for a cavalier during the English Civil War (8)

23 Country in which Rudyard Kipling set The Jungle Book stories (5)

24 Method of decorating alumed paper for stationery, book covers, gift wrap... (8)

25 Circular items displayed on vehicle windscreens until 2014 (3,5)

28 Swimmeret of a lobster or crab (7)

30 One of the five traditional senses; or, discernment (5)

31 Novel by L. M. Montgomery (1,7,3)

33 Drink associated with Enid Blyton’s The Famous Five adventure stories (6,4) 36 One of Carl Jung’s personality types (9)

38 The so-called “dismal science” (9)

40 Grand prince of Muscovy who freed Russia from the Golden Horde (4,1,1,1)

43 ______ nero; black kale served in minestrone, ribollita, barley stew with sausages, or ovenbaked for crisps (6)

44 Historical dealer in fine textiles – fustians, linens, silks, velvets etc (6)

46 Nautical word meaning “stop!” (5)

47 Type of waterway for a barge (5)

49 Word preceded by asparagus, cinnamon, hart’s tongue, maidenhair, royal and staghorn for six plant species (4)

50 Groups of athletes, employees, quizzers or gamers working together (5) A sudoku grid has a 9x9 grid that is further subdivided into nine 3x3 boxes. To solve the puzzle, each of the rows, columns and 3x3 boxes should contain all the digits from 1 to 9. The solution to this puzzle will be published in next week’s issue.