BIG MONDAY CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1 South American plant, Solanum tuberosum,

introduced to Europe c. 1570 (6)

4 1963-67 US crime drama series starring David

Janssen and Barry Morse (3,8)

9 and 37 Italian physiologist who founded the science of microscopic anatomy in 1661, discovering the alveoli, capillaries etc. (8,8)

10 Capital of the Limpopo province of northern South Africa, formerly (until 2002) called Pietersburg (9)

11 Celtic goddess of horses, identified with the

Welsh Rhiannon and the Irish Macha (5)

12 See 24 Down

14 Any wading bird of the family Rallidae, related to the crakes, gallinules, moorhens, coots etc. (4)

17 Either of the two hinged parts of the shell of a

mollusc such as an oyster, mussel etc. (5)

18 Channel Island whose Greater and Little parts

are linked by the isthmus La Coupée (4)

19 Third epoch of the Paleogene period, succeeded by the Miocene approximately 23 million years ago (9)

21 Easternmost town of Italy, used as the setting

of a 1764 novel by Horace Walpole (7)

22 Inflammation of the eye between the sclera and the retina, affecting the iris, ciliary body and choroid (7)

25 2020 drama film directed by Florian Zeller and starring Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman (3,6)

27 Nutrient-rich embryo of a cereal grain such as

wheat, separated out by by milling (4)

28 Usual North American name for a young castrated bull, especially one raised for beef (5)

29 Character played by Katelyn Nacon on TV’s

The Walking Dead from 2015 to 2019 (4)

31 Daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra in Greek mythology; subject of plays by Sophocles and Euripides (7)

33 Small antelope of the African savannah

sometimes known as the palebuck (5)

36 Excessive preoccupation with a single thought

or idea; from Greek, ‘single madness’ (9)

37 See 9

38 Programme of economic and political restructuring enacted in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Gorbachev from 1985 to 1991 (11)

39 Small faint constellation of the southern hemisphere (the Chisel) between Eridanus and Pictor (6)

DOWN

1 Sweet red Spanish pepper of the genus Capsicum traditionally used to stuff green olives (8)

2 In architecture, a projecting console that

supports, or appears to support, a cornice (5)

3 European city that hosted the sixth Winter

Olympic Games in 1952 (4)

4 Figurative word or expression; properly, one

used in a non-literal sense (5)

5 Naval unit forming part of a fleet, made up of

two or more squadrons (8)

6 US singer whose latest album, Brazil305, was

released in August 2020 (6,7)

7 ‘Child Roland to the dark ___ came’

(Shakespeare King Lear (1605-6) (5)

8 Salad dressing of two or three parts oil to one part vinegar seasoned with salt, pepper etc. (11)

13 Largest gland of the body, located in the upper right abdomen immediately below the diaphragm (5)

15 Scottish motor-racing driver who won the Formula One world championship in 1969, 1971 and 1973 (6,7)

16 In philosophy, the ethical theory that selfinterest is the correct basis for morality (6)

18 Ancient Greek city of the southern Peloponnese noted for its military prowess; also known as Lacedaemon (6)

20 Signature song of the French singer Edith Piaf

(1915–63); literally, ‘Life in pink’ (2,3,2,4)

23 Rod or bar designed to resist longitudinal pressure, used as a support in construction etc. (5)

24 and 12 Across Italian director of films including La Strada (1954) and La Dolce Vita (1960) (8,7)

26 Soft silvery-white element of the alkali metals group similar to caesium and potassium, atomic no. 37 (8)

30 Department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

region of SE France; capital, Valence (5)

32 Rhythmic syncopated dance of Afro-Cuban origin usually in 4/4 time, noted for its side-to-side hip movements (5)

34 River of western Europe that forms part of Germany’s border with Switzerland and France (5)

35 Alliance of parties, countries etc. formed to

pursue common interests (4)