BIG MONDAY CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1 Modern English word derived from the Greek, via Latin, for ‘treasure’ (9)

5 Shareholder payment made by a company out of its net profit, typically on a periodic basis (8)

9 Geographical feature whose chief types are drowned river valley, bar-built, tectonic and fjord (7)

10 & 17 Down American football team that defeated the San Francisco 49ers to win the 2024 Super Bowl (6,4,6)

11 Prime Minister of Tuvalu who succeeded

Kausea Natano on 26 February 2024 (6,3)

12 Fourth named reindeer in the 1823 Clement Clarke Moore poem ‘A Visit from St. Nicholas’ (5)

13 Whitish film of yeast formed on the surface of biologically aged wines, especially sherry; Spanish, ‘flower’ (4)

15 Currency unit of Israel worth one hundredth of a shekel (5)

17 Any plant of the leguminous genus Trifolium in the family Fabaceae, also known as trefoil (6)

19 Of physiological processes, occurring approximately every twenty-four hours in accordance with the body’s ‘biological clock’ (9)

21 See 25 Down

22 The stretching or wrenching of the ligaments of a joint, resulting in pain and swelling (6)

23 Reddish-brown pigment obtained from the ink sac of the cuttlefish, historically used in painting (5)

27 Wife of Peter Griffin in the US animated series Family Guy, née Pewterschmidt (4)

28 Large northern constellation (the Whale) containing the variable star Mira A (5)

29 Of leaves and flowers, growing or opening in succession from a plant’s base to its apex (9)

33 Old name for a giraffe, used from the 14th century onwards (10)

34 Psalm or antiphon sung in a Catholic mass as the priest approaches the altar (7)

35 Gemstone mineral of the silicate type typically yellow, green or brown in colour; also called vesuvianite (8)

36 In prosody, a line of verse consisting of eight metrical feet (9)

DOWN

1 Third of the five films in Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry series, released in 1976 (3,8)

2 Ancient race led by Fangorn, also known as Treebeard, in J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth (4)

3 Maurice ___ (1883-1955) French painter chiefly known for his Parisian street scenes (7)

4 State of NE India dominated by the UNESCO World Heritage Site Khangchendzonga National Park; capital, Gangtok (6)

5 Mythical princess of the Greek city of Argos and mother, by Zeus, of the hero Perseus (5)

6 Meat used in dishes including the Italian osso buco and the Austrian Wiener schnitzel (4)

7 First published novel by English author Evelyn Waugh (1928), following the exploits of Paul Pennyfeather (7,3,4)

8 Spice obtained from the ground seed of the Indonesian tree Myristica fragrans, traditionally associated with autumn (6)

11 French composer and pianist of the Les Six group; Les Biches (ballet, 1924), Les mamelles de Tirésias (opera, 1947) etc. (7,7)

14 Alexander ___, Hungarian-born producer of films including The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933) and The Third Man (1949), the former of which he also directed (5)

16 Mythical island to which King Arthur was conveyed after falling at the Battle of Camlann (6)

17 See 10 Across

18 1992 romantic comedy film starring Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn (11)

20 Paul ___ (1902-84), English physicist and Nobel laureate who predicted the existence of antimatter and the positron (5)

24 Aunt of J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter, married to Vernon Dursley (7)

25 & 21 Across French actor Oscar-nominated for his starring role in the 1991 film Cyrano de Bergerac (6,9)

26 Common name for a folk religion of Haitian origin whose rituals are led by a houngan (priest) or mambo (priestess) (6)

30 Traditional bird of origami, known in Japanese as tsuru (5)

31 Nebulous envelope surrounding the frozen nucleus of a comet, caused by proximity to the Sun (4)

32 Twin sister of Dingo in Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), both played by Carol Cleveland (4)