GENERAL KNOWLEDGE CROSSWORD

WIN A LUXURY CROSS PEN

PLAY our accumulator game! Every day this week, solve the crossword to find the letter in the pink circle. On Friday, we’ll provide instructions to submit your five-letter word for your chance to win a luxury Cross pen. UK residents aged 18+, excl NI. Terms apply. Entries cost 50p.

ACROSS

8 An inspector of buildings, their structure, state of repair etc (8)

9 Black ____ , novel about a horse by English writer Anna Sewell, published in 1877 (6)

10 James, English central midfielder for Southampton FC, noted for his goals from free kicks (4-6)

11 Informal term for a Queen’s or King’s Counsel (4)

12 A robot made of biological and machine components (6)

14 Preparations containing the active ingredients of substances in concentrated form (8)

15 ____ agency, business that works for the landlords of properties to find suitable tenants (7)

17 Joan, English actress born in 1906, noted for playing Miss Marple in a TV series (7)

20 Informal term for a fact or argument that finally proves something or settles a dispute (8)

22 A protective ditch dug in warfare, with the excavated earth often used as a parapet (6)

24 Sanskrit word which connotes the fire-god of Hinduism (4)

25 A musical instrument, usually hexagonal, with a pair of bellows (10)

27 ____ Ash, English actress who played Vanessa Lytton in the TV medical drama series Holby City (6)

28 A game in which people guess a word or phrase from a written or acted clue (8)

DOWN

1 Sick, worried or unhappy about something (6)

2 Showing a keen interest or enthusiasm for an activity (4)

3 A colourless, odourless gas that has the lowest density of all gases (8)

4 A heavy slow-moving vehicle, especially one that moves on caterpillar tracks (7)

5 ____ lesson, a warning or instructive experience (6)

6 In a state of severe disrepair (10)

7 A woman’s shoe with a high, thin heel (8)

13 Seeming or outwardly apparent (10)

16 Speeches or writings offering high praise, especially as tributes to people who have died (8)

18 Expression meaning ‘recorded and stored for future use’ (2,3,3)

19 Lucas ____ The Elder, German artist born in 1472, noted for his altarpieces and court portraits (7)

21 A computer operator who uses his or her own skill to break into electronic systems (6)

23 A piece of burnt coal (6)

26 A light, two-wheeled carriage pulled by a horse or pony (4)

SOLUTION TOMORROW