FACTFINDER’S CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1 One sympathetic to a party’s ideology without being a member (6,9) 9 Carbon dioxide or any other suffocating gas in a mine (9) 10 A small anchor for keeping a ship steady (5) 11 West African seaport and capital city (pop about 2 million) (5) 12 The sweet-brier (9) 13 Chief of the fallen angels in Muslim mythology (5) 15 A softening application as poultices, etc (med) (9) 17 Explosion at the end of a star’s life cycle (9) 19 Hal __ (1921 - 2012), US lyricist who collaborated with Burt Bacharach (5) 21 Victory by royal army (1685) in the last battle of the Monmouth Rebellion (9) 23 The court of the Papal See (5) 24 A passage for the whole orchestra (mus) (5) 25 Lacking wisdom, or foolish (9) 26 Hippie of no fixed abode moving between

music festivals, etc (3,3,9)

DOWN

1 Planned village in Moray, dating from 1776 (pop about 1,800) (9) 2 A big cat used as a bearing (her) (7) 3 Large stretch of water in north-west Russia, the second biggest lake in Europe (5) 4 Now obsolete term for a beam or shaft (eg of a cart) (5) 5 A breed of horse in North America with a spotted coat (9) 6 Roused, or inspired (9) 7 An opponent of technological innovation, etc (7) 8 A bailiff or steward (hist) (5) 14 Testing aimed at detecting the presence of a disease, etc (9) 15 Weekly magazine founded in 1843 (9) 16 Market town in North Yorkshire (pop 6,000), a major brewing centre (9) 18 Cornish fishing port (pop 3,000), now a popular tourist resort (7) 20 Silver-gilt, or gilt bronze (7) 21 A closely woven silk (5) 22 A depilatory of lime and orpiment (5) 23 A thicket, or a small stand of trees (5)