Factfinder’s crossword - The Scotsman 28/01/2012

By HUGH JOHNSON
Published on 28/01/2012 00:00

Saturday’s puzzle...

ACROSS

1 A silvery alloy, consisting mainly of tin, similar to pewter (9,5)

9 Foot of two syllables, a long followed by a short (pros) (7)

10 A braced framework (7)

11 Instrument for crushing bladder stones (10)

12 A piece of wood placed alongside another to strengthen it (naut) (4)

14 Legendary Gaelic poet, supposed to have lived in the 3rd century AD (6)

15 Aromatic rootstock of certain East Indian plants of the ginger family (8)

17 A kind of halberd or long-handled weapon, common in the Middle Ages (8)

19 Seabird akin to the albatross and the fulmar (6)

22 A divine snake in Hindu mythology (4)

23 The thorn apple, or a drug got from its seeds and leaves (10)

25 Pertaining to the rainbow (7)

26 An augmented fourth (mus) (7)

27 Instruments for detecting and measuring radioactivity (6,8)

DOWN

1 Engagement in East Lothian where a Scots army was routed by an English force in 1547 (6,2,6)

2 A plant of the quillwort genus (7)

3 Without colour (10)

4 Strong beam passed through a wall as a temporary support (6)

5 A type of well in which water rises in a borehole (8)

6 Anthony __ (1897-1977), Conservative politician who was prime minister (1955-57) (4)

7 The Icelandic parliament (7)

8 Molluscs with perforated conical shells (7-7)

13 Citizen of country in south-east Europe (9,932 sq miles; pop about 2 million), independent since 1991 (10)

16 Now obsolete term for a student at Oxford University of rank below a commoner (8)

18 A form of music, highly syncopated in the melody (7)

20 A rootstock, an underground stem producing roots and leafy shoots (7)

21 Fidel __ (b1927), a Cuban revolutionary who gained power in 1958 (6)

24 A Chinese dynasty (1368-1643) (4)

Last week’s solution:

Across: Joseph Hislop, 8 Hornito, 9 Negates, 11 Sect, 12 Locust-tree, 14 Exocet, 15 Tamanoir, 17 Fumarole, 19 Kirsch, 22 Escapement, 23 Kobs, 25 Dead-eye, 26 Ishmael, 27 Hound’s-tongue.

Down: 1 Jericho, 2 Shir, 3 Phobos, 4 Honduras, 5 Sagittaria, 6 Ontario, 7 Chesterfield, 10 Spear-thistle, 13 Terreplein, 16 Clumbers, 18 Meccano, 20 Spokane, 21 Indigo, 24 Shag.