GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

Across

1. Best-selling writer whose first book was A Time to Kill (7)

5. Dutch artist known for his portraits of wealthy citizens, particularly the popularly-named ‘Laughing Cavalier’ (4)

7. Award-winning actress who starred in the drama series Homeland (5)

10. Solitary animal whose predators are the grey wolf and bear (5)

11. French painter, 1859-1891, who devised the technique known as pointillism (6)

12. British Prime Minister who preceded Tony Blair (5)

13. Raised platform for a lectern or throne (4)

15. “__ is something that does not matter, unless you are a cheese”: Luis Bunuel (3)

17. Title of a 1966 Joan Baez Christmas album (4)

19. 19th century playwright whose works include The Doll’s House and Hedda Gabler (5)

21. General purpose, white-fleshed potato (3)

22. UN agency which promotes education and the arts (6)

23. “__ is a matter of time, but it is sometimes also a matter of opportunity”: Hippocrates (7)

24. Colourful Australian parrot, often seen in pairs (7)

25. American television awards first held in 1949 (5)

27. African tree, Milletia laurentii, listed as endangered, which produces a widely used darkcoloured wood (5)

29. National bird of the Bahamas (8)

31. Sea which is part of the Southern Ocean (7)

32. Class of small sailing dinghy (5)

34. ___ Room, 2002 film starring Jodie Foster and Kristen Stewart (5)

36. El __, 900m vertical granite rock formation in Yosemite National Park (7)

38. Membrane in the ear also known as myringa (7)

40. Room between the kitchen and the lounge in a game of Cluedo (6)

41. First letter of the Hebrew alphabet (5)

42. 1974 song which was Barry Manilow’s first major hit (5)

43. “__ your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you”: Unknown (4)

45. Cereal grass whose grain is the main ingredient of black bread (3)

47. Leguminous plants with varieties including early perfection, wando and tall telephone (4)

49. Potato pancakes associated with Hannukah (5)

50. Prime Minister of Pakistan 1988-90, 1993-96, assassinated in 2007 (6)

51. Body parts of the Gorgons which were made of brass (5)

52. Smooth, brown oval nut often used in desserts (5)

53. “How much a dunce that has been sent to __, excels a dunce that has been kept at home”: William Cowper (4)

54. Major road through north-west London (7)

Down

2. Wine region of southern France (5)

3. Word which precedes stitch, potatoes and drill (4)

4. Handel oratorio first performed in Dublin in 1742, one of the bestknown choral works (7)

5. Baron Georges-Eugene ____, prefect of the Seine responsible for the renovation of central Paris into its current form between 18541870 (9)

6. Wife of the Hindu god Rama (4)

7. One of the most common types of tent (4)

8. Russian ballet dancer regarded as the greatest male dancer of the early 20th century (8)

9. First name of sportsmen Perez, Garcia and Romero (6)

10. Hugely popular video game, released in 2011, designed by Swede Markus Persson (9)

14. Month which always ends on the same day of the week as December (5)

16. French dish of savoury choux dough mixed with cheese (7)

18. Official who assists the referee in a game of football (8)

20. Word which comes after white and before control (5)

26. In the __ Hour, 1965 song by Wilson Pickett (8)

27. Alternative name for the element tungsten (7)

28. Fictional castle in a series of stories by P.G. Wodehouse (9)

30. No More Mr. __ __, song released by Alice Cooper in 1973 (4,3)

33. Swedish golfer, now retired, who won 92 tournaments, including 10 majors (9)

35. Fluid which surrounds an unborn baby during pregnancy (8)

37. Central part of an amphitheatre or other building in which the action occurs (5)

39. Ribbon-covered post which people dance around (7)

40. Loose fold of skin which hangs from the neck of certain animals, especially cattle (6)

44. Largest nerve in the human body not protected by bone or muscle (5)

45. “Given free __, our imagination can get infinite”: Jim Harrison (4)

46. Biblical character, greatgrandson of Shem, who refused to help with the building of the Tower of Babel (4)

48. Artie __, US clarinettist and band leader, 1910-2004 (4)