WIN A LUXURY CROSS PEN

SEE BELOW

ACROSS

1 An element such as copper or iron that occupies a central block in the periodic table (10,5)

8 A small portion of a piece

of music or writing (7)

9 Pongo’s mate in the

1961 animated comedy film One Hundred And One Dalmatians (7)

10 ____ farthing, informal term for something of very little or no value (5)

11 American whiskey cocktail with vermouth and bitters, and often a cherry garnish (9)

12 A plant with long stems that wind themselves around objects (7)

14 A beat or pulsation,

especially of the heart (5) 15 Tamsin, actress who played Anne Trenchard in TV drama Belgravia (5) 17 African river that is crossed by the Victoria Falls Bridge (7)

19 Having taken more money out of a bank account than it contains (9)

22 A narrow channel on

the moon’s surface (5)

23 Gottfried, German philosopher and mathematician born in 1646 (7)

24 The ____, horsehead sculptures near Falkirk depicting water spirits in Scottish folklore (7)

25 An English country dance with two rows of dancers facing each other (5,2,8)

DOWN

1 Another name for

the aspen tree (9,6)

2 Antiquated or

old-fashioned (7)

3 Lee, actor and theatre director noted as a leading exponent of method acting (9)

4 A natural object or animal adopted by a particular society as an emblem (5)

5 Character played by Rachel Zegler in the 2021 film of West Side Story (5)

6 1996 epic disaster film about a group of storm chasers (7)

7 Character in Coronation Street who is played by Jane Danson (6,9)

9 A sentence containing every letter of the alphabet (7)

13 An attractive combination

of vitality and glamour (7) 14 A card game involving

three players (9)

16 ____ gown, a long elegant dress suitable for wearing on formal occasions (7)

18 Animosity or hatred (3-4) 20 1982 film that was written and directed by Barry Levinson, with Steve Guttenberg, Mickey Rourke and Kevin Bacon in leading roles (5)

21 Japanese city noted for the lavishly decorated Shinto shrine, Toshogu (5) SOLUTION TOMORROW