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 Relating to the reign of England’s first Stuart king (8)

9 French port city that is overlooked by Mount Faron (6)

10 Relating to an ancient civilisation that developed primarily in modernday Lebanon (10)

11 Only deadly sin according to writer Joseph Epstein that is ‘no fun at all’ (4)

12 John, 17th-century writer who was England’s first poet laureate (6)

14 Darts-themed TV game show once co-hosted by the late Tony Green (8)

15 The painted background on a theatre stage or film set (7)

17 William, founder of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution in 1824 (7)

20 ____ Clarke, composer noted for his trumpet voluntary the Prince Of Denmark’s March, often played at weddings (8)

22 A make of moulded rubber sole used for climbing and walking boots (6)

24 The flowerhorn cichlid is one noted for its vivid colours (4)

25 The most basic level of an

activity or organisation (10) 27 A type of highly seasoned sausage, usually eaten in slices (6)

28 I ____, U.S. TV sitcom based on radio show My Favorite Husband (4,4)

DOWN

1 Shoaib, spin bowler who made his Test debut for England in 2024 (6)

2 Part of a mole’s body that has sensory Eimer’s organs (4)

3 A novice or trainee (8)

4 Phrase meaning ‘suffering uncertainty’ (2,5)

5 Describing music that is not written in any key or mode (6)

6 Sports institution in West London that hosts an annual lawn tennis tournament (6,4)

7 ____ belt, moving band of e.g. metal used for transporting objects (8)

13 The northernmost point of mainland Scotland (6,4)

16 ____ error, a mistake made in copying or writing out a document (8)

18 Tending to spread, especially in a quick or aggressive manner (8)

19 Don, actor who played Basher Tarr in the Ocean’s film series (7)

21 Simon, architectural historian noted for his work on football stadiums (6)

23 ____ Of The Clones, Episode II in the Star Wars film series, released in 2002 (6)

26 ____ Alexander, singer who is the UK’s 2024 Eurovision Song Contest entrant (4)

SOLUTION TOMORROW