Factfinder crossword - The Scotsman 03/12/2011

Across

1 Thomas __ (1710-96), Kincardineshire-born philosopher who in 1764 succeeded Adam Smith as professor of moral philosophy at Glasgow University (4)

3 A small misdemeanour, or trifling fault (10)

10 City in southern England (pop about 115,000), with a cathedral dating from the 12th century (9)

11 A river of the underworld in Greek mythology (5)

12 Fred __ (1915-2001), British astronomer who coined the term Big Bang (5)

13 The lower or inner surface of an arch (archit) (8)

15 Relating to an ancient east Iranian language (7)

17 A musical instrument with strings struck by hammers (7)

19 Leon __ (1879-1940), Russian revolutionary leader assassinated in Mexico City (7)

21 A small weight – 20 grains in apothecaries’ weight (7)

22 A Bulgarian unit of currency, worth one hundredth of a lev (8)

24 A member of the heath genus, especially heather (5)

27 An old Scottish copper coin (5)

28 A trellis, or piece of latticework (9)

29 An instrument for measuring the speed of the wind (10)

30 A hardy type of cabbage with open, curled leaves (4)

Down

1 Small town in the north-east (created a burgh of barony in 1681), once a busy fishing port (10)

2 Large Hebridean island (246 sq miles; pop about 4,000), noted for its whisky distilleries (5)

4 Purification or separation by washing (chem) (7)

5 Protectively concealing (zool) (7)

6 Regional capital and trading centre (pop about 100,000) in the Ivory Coast (5)

7 A fossil or petrified fruit (9)

8 Ancient Hebrew unit of dry measure (4)

9 A fibrous carcinogenic silicate mineral (8)

14 Group of islands in the south-eastern Aegean Sea (10)

16 Not having a beak (bot) (9)

18 A type of cotton or linen fabric, in twill weave (8)

20 Major river, rising in Tibet and flowing (3,900 miles) into the East China Sea (7)

21 A breed of lightly built, short-haired cat (7)

23 Asian capital city (pop more than 12 million), devastated by an earthquake in 1923 (5)

25 Japanese city (pop about 170,000), the HQ of the Yamaha Motor Corporation (5)

26 Capital city (pop about 37,000) of a south Pacific state, the home of Robert Louis Stevenson from 1888 to 1894 (4)

Last week’s solution:

Across: 1 Montrose, 5 Crotal, 10 Rigmarole, 11 Dingo, 12 Arraign, 13 Guarani, 14 Bulgaria, 17 Haifa, 19 Afrit, 21 Spergula, 24 Nairobi, 25 Milfoil, 27 Voile, 28 Harrogate, 29 Sannup, 30 Stingers.

Down: 1 Morgan, 2 Nagor, 3 Reading, 4 Spoon, 6 Redpath, 7 Tannahill, 8 Leonidas, 9 Belgrade, 15 Ukrainian, 16 Respighi, 18 Balnaves, 20 Thoreau, 22 Galloon, 23 Cleeks, 25 Morat, 26 Osage.