CODE CRACKER

To win one of three prizes of $100, work out which number represents which letter. All letters of the alphabet appear at least once. Fill in the coloured boxes at the bottom to reveal our prize word. Write this answer on the entry coupon.

ACROSS

1 Cucumber preserved in vinegar (6) 4 National song (6) 8 Step down from a position (6) 11 Nicole –, actress (6) 14 – Lynn, veteran country singer (7) 17 Against the law (7) 18 Group of senior government ministers (7) 20 – Davis, actress (5) 21 Protective structure or facility (7) 23 Speaker’s platform (7) 25 Program maliciously introduced into a computer system (5) 26 Total agreement (9) 27 Taken or asserted (7) 31 Small Mexican dog breed (9) 32 Canine infant (5) 34 Non-professional participant (7) 36 Aerated hot-tub (7) 38 Hot chocolate drink (5) 41 Mysterious aircraft (1,1,1) 42 Orange stone fruit (7) 44 Drag racing track (5) 45 – Starr, drummer in the Beatles (5) 46 Brewed coffee remnants (7) 48 South Pacific island kingdom (5) 49 Birthday remembrance token (4) 50 Slow moving South American mammal (5) 51 Security deposit (4) 53 Figure of speech (5) 56 Grief (7)

57 Home and –, long-running TV drama series (4) 58 Reject or repudiate (4) 59 Precious stone (7) 63 Strenuous period leading up to childbirth (6) 65 Something in the way (8) 67 Yachting manoeuvre (4) 69 Moving part in an engine cylinder (6) 73 Closest planet to the sun (7) 75 Capital of Portugal (6) 76 Manufacturing plant (7) 77 – Bana, actor (4) 80 Land of the Pharaohs (5) 81 Juvenile frog (7) 83 Occurring throughout a particular place or population (7) 84 School tests (5) 86 London night-life precinct (4) 88 American state featuring the Grand Canyon (7) 89 Sliding storage facility in a chest (6) 91 Collection of books (7) 94 Andrew –, TV talk show host (6) 96 Large metal storage barrel (4) 97 Attention to one’s appearance (8) 98 Photographer’s device (6) 102 Clumsy mistake (7) 103 Teenage skin complaint (4) 104 Sporting or social association (4) 106 Clever aquatic mammal (7) 110 Proposal (5) 112 Colleague, social equal (4) 113 Mythical king with golden touch (5) 114 – Byrne, actress (4) 115 Formal frocks (5) 119 One who establishes an organisation (7) 121 Short (5) 122 Mystical Celtic priest (5) 123 Warm regions within about 23 degrees latitude of the equator (7) 124 Sense of self (3) 125 Give up, cede (5) 127 Match from which a champion emerges (7) 128 Porridge ingredient (7) 129 Supporting frame for a painting (5) 130 US folk and country music style featuring banjo and fiddle (9) 133 Birth attendant (7) 136 Surname of US acting sisters Emily and Zooey (9) 138 Official examination of accounts (5) 139 Shrove Tuesday treat (7) 142 Large bovine creature (7) 144 Large-eared marsupial (5) 146 Vivid shade of red (7) 148 Financial backer (7) 149 Captivate, entrance (7) 151 Indigenous (6) 152 Preserve at subzero temperature (6) 153 Nominating, citing (6) 154 Very strong (6)

DOWN

1 Of the oceans or seas (7) 2 Slice roast meat for serving (5) 3 Consume (3) 5 Centre of an atom (7) 6 Hills –, rotary clothes line (5) 7 Grinding tooth (5) 8 – Federer, tennis great (5) 9 Horseracing jockey’s colours (5) 10 Of the digestive tract (7) 11 Green NZ parrot (3) 12 Jewish candelabrum (7) 13 – Richardson, late actress (7) 15 Drama genre in which major characters meet a grim end (7) 16 Helper, aide (9) 18 Bringing together, joining (9) 19 Make camp (7) 22 Long snaky fish (3) 24 Dedicated poem (3) 27 Drinking salutation (6) 28 Without warning (8) 29 Greater number of participants (8) 30 Chopping into small cubes (6) 32 Schematic diagrams (5) 33 Monumental tomb in 80 across (7) 35 Country in which The Sound

of Music is set (7) 37 Study of animals (7) 39 – Lauper, singer (5) 40 Taken for granted (7) 43 French country manor (7) 47 Paper-folding craft (7) 49 Johnny –, late country music star (4) 52 Extinct Mauritian bird (4) 54 Spiky desert plant (6) 55 In the direction of the setting sun (8) 56 Colonial US town noted for witch trials (5) 60 Cute aquatic mammal (5) 61 Tenth month (7) 62 Wager (3) 64 – Humphries, comedy performer (5) 66 Earth-moving machine (9) 68 Twin-hulled sailing vesel (9) 70 Stevie –, Fleetwood Mac singer (5) 71 Inexplicable phenomenon (7) 72 Bram Stoker’s vampire count (7) 74 Till (4) 78 Sleeping chamber (7) 79 Doing word (4) 80 Relaxed (5) 82 Decorative item (8) 85 Recede or lessen in intensity (5) 87 Follower of Vedic scriptures (5) 90 Nun’s headwear (6) 92 Long (for) (5) 93 Historical period (3) 95 Placed a request for goods (7) 99 Quickly in music (7) 100 Short journey (4) 101 Lateral extreme (4) 102 Loud buzzing summer insect pest (7) 103 Harsh or bitter (7) 105 Deborah Harry’s band (7) 107 Jennifer –, model, TV presenter (7) 108 Stolen, particularly in

small amounts (8) 109 Indian cooking style (8) 111 Wind instrument (5) 116 Coarse agave fibre used in

rope-making (5) 117 Deep knowledge

and understanding (6) 118 Fine or delicate (6) 120 Floor covering metaphorically rolled

out for celebrities or dignitaries (3,6) 123 Astronomer’s viewing apparatus (9) 126 Of numbers (7) 129 Show, display (7) 130 Sir Richard –, entrepreneur behind

the Virgin group of companies (7) 131 Warm, rising air current (7) 132 Member of Australia’s upper house

in Federal Parliament (7) 134 Tattooist’s pigment (3) 135 Winter malady (3) 136 Without emotion (7) 137 Steadfast allegiance (7) 140 Passage between seats (5) 141 Run away to marry (5) 142 North American 142 across (5) 143 Venue for meeting, discussion (5) 145 The Addams family’s butler (5) 147 Calm centre of a storm system (3) 150 – de plume, pen-name (3)