THE BIG HITTER!
Solve the crossword in the usual way. When completed correctly, the pink squares, reading top to bottom, left to right, will reveal the answer to the Big Hitter Big Question. Check the solution on page 85.
ACROSS
1 Taxi (7) 8 Complete the line from the wellknown carol: ‘Away in a manger, No crib _ _ _’ (3,1,3) 11 Historical period (3) 12 Frozen water (3) 13 Meadow (3) 14 Open space on a forest or wood (5) 16 Jewish ringed bread product (5) 17 ‘The little Lord Jesus lay down
his ___ head’ (5) 18 Paper money (5) 19 Make a very small adjustment to (5) 21 Hawaiian garland (3) 22 Country’s main city (7) 24 Wrestle (7) 26 Dead as a dodo! (7) 27 ‘The stars in the bright sky, ___ down where he lay’ (6) 29 Clothes (slang) (7) 32 Chinese pasta strips (7) 35 Cowboy film genre (7) 37 Personal ___, fitness instructor (7) 39 Biology, physics, chemistry, etc (7) 40 Grown without chemicals (7) 42 Becomes adept at, acquires a skill, eg (7) 45 Light brown seedless raisin (7) 49 ‘The little Lord Jesus ___ on the hay’ (6) 50 ‘___ are lowing, The baby awakes’ (3,6) 51 Woolly footwear (5) 53 ‘But little Lord ___, No crying he makes’ (5) 55 Fire debris (3) 56 Ice house (5) 58 The Beano, eg (5) 59 Festive family show such as Mother Goose or Aladdin (5) 61 Keen (5) 63 Might, strength (5) 64 ‘I love you Lord Jesus, Look down from the ___’ (3) 65 Electric fish (3) 66 An age, long period of time (3) 67 ‘And stay by my side until ___ is nigh’ (7) 68 Works for money (5)
DOWN
1 Tuneful (7) 2 Draws closer to (5) 3 Right (7) 4 Put down, scoffed at (9) 5 Spherical Christmas tree decoration (6) 6 Complete the line from the well-known carol: ‘Hark the herald angels ___’ (4) 7 Fat causing skin dimpling (9) 8 Two weeks (9) 9 Sporting event consisting of a series of boat races (7) 10 Hits, bangs (a drum, eg) (5) 15 Select group (5) 20 ‘Glory to the newborn ___!’ (4) 23 Camera snapshot (5) 25 ‘___ earth and mercy mild’ (5,2) 28 Christmas ___, 24 December (3) 30 Shade, colour (3) 31 ‘God and ___ reconciled’ (7) 32 ‘Joyful, all ye ___ rise’ (7) 33 Flaxen material (5) 34 Knight’s title (3) 36 ‘Join the triumph of the ___’ (5) 38 ‘With the___ host proclaim’ (7) 39 Maths problem (3) 41 Tavern – where Mary and Joseph were told there was no room! (3) 43 Donkey (3) 44 Odds and ___, betting chances (5) 46 Connecting, joining on (9) 47 ‘Christ is born in ___’ (9) 48 The Three Wise Men (4) 49 Flying vehicle (9) 51 Bog, marsh (5) 52 Ancient Japanese warrior (7) 53 Caretaker (7) 54 Used an aerosol (7) 57 Skulked, hung around (in the bushes, eg) (6) 58 Crouch in fear (5) 60 Fertile spot in the desert (5) 62 One of the gifts 48D brought to Baby Jesus (4)