Crossword

GIVE YOUR BRAIN A WORKOUT

Get your brain in gear with our cryptic science-themed crossword.

ACROSS

8 Heard talk of pie filling ( 7) 9 Vegetable when father gets sugar back (9) 13 Small, feeble track (5) 14 Molten rock gets registered as immature form (5) 15 Writer has neat cocktail with a bit of petrol ( 7) 16 Constituent that provides heat ( 7) 17 Graduate returns equipment for use of wax (5) 18 The Simpsons’ resident poet (5) 20 Poison can contain bull (5) 22 Compete with yours truly to get flower cluster (6) 23 A professor is a handsome youngster (6) 25 Weirder than artist getting unknown disease ( 7) 27 Californian giant joins socialist club ( 7) 30 Account concerning wine (6) 31 Knock favourite part of machine (6) 32 Transport nothing with British chocolate substitute (5) 35 Enemy has ship to ditch (5) 36 Flavouring is an alternative additive (5) 37 I have gone off American type of rock ( 7) 39 Encourage chief to be a boffin ( 7) 41 SF writer’s holy novel reaches the end (5) 42 A riot out of proportion (5) 43 Status bar worked at lower levels (9) 44 Invention of a type of fiction ( 7)

DOWN

1 Church city has a decorative finish (6) 2 A beer den wasted in the city (8) 3 Workers get expert to allow song on time (11) 4 A matching bit within artificial sweetener (9) 5 Fish and grape recipe captivates one king ( 7) 6 Managed to get island outline in dry area (4,6) 7 Gold gives artist quality (4) 10 Incline towards a perfume (6) 11 A bar sent CIA out for coffee ( 7) 12 Sympathy towards second suit (6) 19 Human problem, getting round right to some work (3-4) 21 Frog gets cross, having space to work ( 7) 24 Particle net adjusted, moving to the middle (11) 26 Antelope played three beats (10) 28 Rebuild a chapel – it shows Islamic realm (9) 29 Kiwi finds suitable coordinates with hesitation ( 7) 30 Engineers gets wire in an instinctive move (6) 32 Sorry prisoner got banal (8) 33 Boots worn by new terrier (6) 34 Race lad around crater ( 7) 38 Angle that’s hard to understand (6) 40 Impudence overheard in France, formerly (4)

ANSWERS

For the answers, visit bit.ly/BBCFocusCW Please be aware the website address is case-sensitive.