Factfinder’s crossword - The Scotsman 04/08/2012

ACROSS

1 Little black, ruddy and white bird of furzy places (9)

6 Former capital city in west Africa (pop more than 9 million), annexed in 1851 by Britain (5)

9 European republic (39,714 sq miles; pop more than 300,000), independent since 1944 (9)

10 An adjutant bird, especially an African species (7)

11 Old term for a spiked portcullis (5)

12 Relating to a bony protuberance on either side of the ankle (9)

13 A crane-like bird, the golden-breasted trumpeter (5)

14 Violently disturbed or agitated (9)

17 Any plant of the composite genus Solidago (9)

19 American playwright (b 1928), who wrote Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (5)

21 A long, double-breasted overcoat (9)

24 Relating to rhythmical or metrical stress (pros) (5)

26 Dialect term for young ewes, especially of the first year (7)

27 Laurence __ (1907-1989), Dorking-born actor who was the first director of the National Theatre (7)

28 John __ (1908-2005), Norfolk-born actor, knighted in 1976 (5)

29 AE __ (1900-65), US politician who was Democratic candidate for president in 1952 and 1954 (9)

DOWN

1 Adam __ (1723-90), Kirkcaldy-born philosopher who wrote The Wealth of Nations (5)

2 A genus of Australasian evergreen shrubs (7)

3 Elastic bitumen, a rubber-like mineral resin (9)

4 Rare spelling of an instrument attached to a wheel for measuring distance travelled (9)

5 A Dravidian language of south-east India and Sri Lanka (5)

6 Major ferry port in Northern Ireland (pop 18,000) (5)

7 A tax on salt, especially formerly in France (7)

8 A maid-servant, or lady’s maid (9)

13 Step-by-step method for solving a problem (9)

15 A long timber beam that supports the upper ends of the rafters (5-4)

16 Pitchblende, the chief ore of uranium (9)

18 Eric __ (1902-45), Scottish runner who won gold in the 400m at the Paris Olympics of 1924 (7)

20 Old slang term for burglars’ jemmies (7)

22 Caribbean island (35.9 sq miles; pop about 12,000), part of the smallest sovereign state in the Americas (5)

23 Kilns used to dry hops or malt (5)

25 Sophia __ (b1934), Italian actress who won an Oscar for best actress in Two Women (1962) (5)

Last week’s solution:

Across: 1 Drummond, 5 Abatis, 9 Nearctic, 10 Aglaia, 12 Ardrossan, 13 Talma, 14 Raddle, 17 Lunga, 20 Oread, 21 Lister, 24 Tatar, 25 Upanishad,

28 Oblate, 29 Berserks, 30 Eterne, 31 Amundsen.

Down: 1 Dunbar, 2 Uganda, 3 Macao, 4 Noils, 6 Bagatelle, 7 Thailand, 8 Scalawag, 11 Engels, 15 Anderstan, 16 Delius, 18 Montrose, 19 Dentelle,

22 Pharos, 23 Edison, 26 Abeam, 27 Ibsen.