FACTFINDER’S CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1 An arm of the Mediterranean off the western coast of Italy (10,3) 10 A capital city in south-east Asia (pop about 8 million) (5) 11 Port city in north-east Spain (pop about 200,000), founded in the 5th century BC (9) 12 A genus (Thalictrum) of the buttercup

family (6-3) 13 A sharp mountain ridge, especially in

French Switzerland (5) 14 Strengthen or support physically or

mentally (7) 16 US state (36,291 sq miles; pop about 5

million), nicknamed the Hoosier State (7) 18 Grants immunity (from) (7) 20 Provision for maintenance (7) 21 A Japanese floor mattress used as a bed

(5) 23 Inversely heart-shaped, as a leaf (bot) (9) 25 Place near the shore where ships can ride

at anchor (9) 26 A catkin (5) 27 US photographic inventor, entrepreneur

and philanthropist (1854 - 1932) (5,7)

DOWN

2 A shrewish woman, or a gossip (US coll) (5) 3 A plant fruiting underground (9) 4 The gut or alimentary canal in higher mammals (7) 5 Citizen of a country in the Middle East (pop 9 million), independent since 1948 (7) 6 A large southern African antelope (5) 7 Absolve (someone) from blame for a fault or wrongdoing (9) 8 Dumfriesshire-born stonemason (1757 - 1834), elected the first president of the Institution of Civil Engineers (6,7) 9 Italian agreement recognising the Vatican as an independent state (7,6) 15 A low-growing shrub, the bog-myrtle (5-4) 17 Type of sandwich made from sliced beef, etc, on French bread (4,5) 19 Citizen of a small country in south central Europe (7,819 sq miles; pop about 2 million), independent since 1991 (7) 20 Region of southern Greece (1,760 sq miles;

pop about 85,000), in the Peloponnese (7) 22 A strong head-wind (5) 24 The betel-nut genus of palms (5)