GENERAL KNOWLEDGE CROSSWORD

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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

1 A parliamentary constituency in which the sitting MP has an impregnable majority (4,4) 5 ____ Penrose, actress who played barmaid Gina Ward in Heartbeat (6) 10 Character in the X-Men film series played by Michael Fassbender and Ian McKellen (7)

11 2013 novel by Dan Brown that was the fourth book in the Robert Langdon series (7)

12 A bar or rod forming part of a framework (5) 13 Optical instrument that gives magnified images of distant objects (9) 14 Cover of a Bananarama song by Scottish indie band the Bluebells, released in 1984 (5,2,5) 18 Style of documentary by filming people as they normally do things (3-2-3-4) 21 To reverse one’s previous action or opinion (4-5)

23 A red powder or cream used as a cosmetic for colouring the cheeks or lips (5)

24 A coarse grass with tough, narrow leaves that is native to Spain and North Africa (7) 25 ____ Castle, ancestral seat of the Duke of Northumberland (7) 26 Midwestern U.S. state in which Dorothy lives in The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz (6) 27 One who deserts and betrays an organisation, country or set of principles (8)

DOWN

1 A usually triangular fried Asian savoury pastry containing spiced vegetables or meat (6) 2 ____ skate, one having a long, narrow blade with a serrated edge at the front (6)

3 A long rounded vegetable covered in seeds that is part of the maize plant (9) 4 Expression meaning ‘entry into an organisation at a low level but with future prospects’ (1,4,2,3,4)

6 U.S. funk band whose lead vocalist was

Chaka Khan (5)

7 Rank below sergeant in the British Army (8) 8 A representation of Cupid in a work of art (8) 9 Scottish independence leader played by Mel Gibson in Braveheart (7,7)

15 U.S. theatre director and producer noted for his collaboration with Stephen Sondheim (3,6) 16 Type of cricket delivery in which Jim Laker and Graeme Swann specialised (3,5) 17 A person or thing vital to an enterprise or organisation (8) 19 Constellation whose name comes from the Latin for ‘charioteer’ (6)

20 A device in a papermaking machine for limiting the size of the sheet (6)

22 A large windproof jacket with a hood (5)

SOLUTION TOMORROW