CROSSWORD

General Knowledge No. 2,663

ACROSS

1 Thin membrane that lines the

chambers of the heart (11) 8 Cube root of 1,728 (6)

9 City of southern Texas, on the Mexican border, founded in 1755 (6)

10 China’s currency unit (4) 11 Metallic element that occurs naturally in iron pyrites (8)

13 Comic character Tintin’s

faithful dog (5)

15 English composer of Six Choral Folksongs in 1916 (5)

18 Greek Muse of epic poetry

(8)

19 Crimean War battle fought

on September 20, 1854 (4) 20 French port 26 miles

north-east of Le Havre (6) 21 Element that is essential for

thyroid function (6)

22 1926 Sinclair Lewis novel of a wayward preacher (5,6)

DOWN

2 Large island separated from Australia by the Torres Strait (3,6)

3 Synthetic acrylic fibre used for

textiles and knitwear (5)

4 The original collection of religious texts of Zoroastrianism (6)

5 Small Scottish town overlooked by Castle Campbell (6)

6 French artist who painted Vue

de Pontoise in 1913 (7) 7 Name of the bulb of a

gladiolus or crocus (4) 12 Constellation that includes

the star Polaris (4,5)

14 West Midlands town where Jerome K Jerome was born in 1859 (7) 16 Salmon-pink bird with an

erectile crest (6)

17 Danish explorer (1681-1741) after whom a sea and a strait are named (6)

18 The police sergeant in Wilkie Collins’ novel The Moonstone (4)

19 Forest where part of Shakespeare’s As You Like It is set (5)

SOLUTION to Chris Leyland No. 12: Across: 1 Polka, 4 Quickstep, 9 Ossuaries, 10 Panda, 11 Limbo, 12 Tricolour, 13 Ringlet, 15 Griddle, 17 Canonic, 19 Caesium, 21 Bossa nova, 23 Waltz, 24 Rumba, 25 In despair, 26 Tear drops, 27 Salsa. Down: 1 Prowler, 2 Last man in, 3 Alamo, 4 Quintet, 5 Issuing, 6 Kept on ice, 7 Tango, 8 Prairie, 14 Lend a hand, 16 Drill hall, 17 Cabaret, 18 Chorizo, 19 Csardas, 20 Mazurka, 22 Samba, 23 Wasps.