BIG MONDAY CROSSWORD
ACROSS
1 Animal that feeds wholly or primarily on fruit (9) 6 See 18 Down 10 Third-largest of the Channel Islands, known in French as Aurigny (8) 11 Hardy sheep of central Asia having a dark curled fleece (Persian lamb) when young (7) 12 and 17 Across Prime Minister of Malaysia who succeeded Mahathir Mohamad on 1 March 2020 (9,6) 13 European freshwater fish of the carp family similar to the rudd; Rutilus rutilus (5) 15 Westernmost state of Brazil, on the border with Peru; capital, Rio Branco (4) 16 Scientific study of the structure, functions etc. of plant and animal cells (8) 17 See 12 20 1887 adventure novel by English author H. Rider Haggard (3) 22 Watery solution of mineral salts, sugars etc. that circulates in the vascular system of a plant (3) 25 Any of several fruit-bearing trees of the rosaceous genus Prunus, especially P. avium and P. cerasus (6) 26 Aromatic perennial herb of the daisy family; Artemisia dracunculus (8) 29 ‘Buckeye State’ of the north-eastern US, on the southern edge of Lake Erie (4) 30 Stingless male bee in a colony of social bees whose sole function is to mate with the queen (5) 31 Small constellation of the southern hemisphere between Dorado and Hydrus; the Net (9) 34 Republic of South America that includes the Pacific archipelago of the Galápagos Islands (7) 35 Use of a word such as a pronoun to refer back to a preceding word without repeating it (8) 36 ‘The undiscovered country from whose ___/ No traveller returns’ (Shakespeare Hamlet (1601)) (5) 37 European thrush of rocky and moorland areas closely related to the blackbird; Turdus torquatus (4,5)
DOWN
2 2020 biopic starring Rosamund Pike as the Polish/French physicist Marie Curie (11) 3 One of the orders of classical architecture, characterized by fluted columns and capitals with scroll-like ornaments (5) 4 Semi-precious variety of the silica mineral agate comprising alternating bands of different colours (4) 5 Table giving the future positions of a planet, comet or satellite over a given period of time (9) 6 Chinese cabbage variety (Brassica chinensis) whose name means ‘white vegetable’ (3,4) 7 Capital of Angola, founded by Portuguese explorer Paulo Dias de Novais in 1576 (6) 8 Call sign of Tom Cruise’s Lieutenant Pete Mitchell in the 1986 film Top Gun (8) 9 See 25 14 Joseph ___, US author of novels including 1961’s Catch-22 (6) 15 Giant in Greek mythology whose hundred eyes were transferred to the peacock’s tail by Hera (5) 18 and 6 Across Titular protagonist of a 1910 comic novel by H. G. Wells., played by John Mills in a 1949 film adaptation (6,5) 19 Italian film director (1929–89) credited as the inventor of the Spaghetti Western genre (6,5) 21 Muse of lyric and love poetry in Greek mythology, usually depicted holding a lyre (5) 23 Instrument for estimating distance walked by recording the number of steps taken (9) 24 Difference of pitch between two notes sounded successively (melodic) or simultaneously (harmonic) (8) 25 and 9 Down Pseudonym of French acrobat Jean François Gravelet (1824-1897), known for performing tightrope walks across Niagara Falls (7,7) 27 Hinged flap on the trailing edge of an aircraft wing used for lateral balancing, as in a bank or roll (7) 28 Formerly, an English name for the emperor of Japan; ‘honourable gate’ (6) 32 Accumulated droppings of seabirds and bats, used as a fertilizer (5) 33 Capital of the Calvados department of NW France, on the Orne River approximately 9 miles (14 km) inland from the English Channel (4)