FACTFINDER’S CROSSWORD

Dear Reader,

As a result of the coronavirus pandemic we are suspending competition entries for all our prize crosswords. Puzzles will continue to appear as normal but no entries will be accepted or prizes given.

We hope to return to normal as soon as possible.

The solution to this week’s Factfinder crossword will appear next Saturday as usual.

Stay safe!

Joy Yates, Editorial Director

Across 7

Former fishing village in Fife (pop about

1,600), created a royal burgh in 1178 (5)

8 A straw mattress (9)

10 Archaic term for incompetent or ineffectual

(6)

11 Relating to dinner (8)

12 Small city in Oklahoma (pop about 40,000),

founded in 1898 (8)

13 A small mountain lake (4)

15 The entellus monkey of India (7)

17 The bottlenose dolphin (7)

20 Hebridean island (639 sq miles; pop 10,000), transferred from Norway to Scotland in 1266 (4)

22 Causes of widespread afflictions (8)

25 Nickname of the US gangster, Al Capone (8) 26 Crashes into another car, etc (coll) (6)

27 People who affect an extravagant love of

art (9)

28 A hereditary tenant of the crown (hist) (5)

Down 1

Anthropoid ape found only in Sumatra and

Borneo (9)

2 Small city in Mali (pop about 55,000),

founded around 1100 (8)

3 Large South American eagles (7)

4 The true wild-olive (8)

5 A heavy blow (coll) (6)

6 Major character in The Lion, the Witch and

the Wardrope by C S Lewis (5)

9 Alban __ (1885 1935), Austrian composer who

created the opera Lulu (1935) (4)

14 The fruit of the egg-plant (9)

16 Konrad __ (1876 - 1967), CDU politician who was Chancellor of West Germany (1949 -63) (8)

18 A small street band of Mexican musicians (8) 19 A species of sturgeon (7)

21 Japanese combative sport using blows and

kicks (6)

23 The secret police of the Soviet Union (1922

- 34) (4)

24 A mass of debris at the base of a cliff (5)