Factfinder’s Crossword - The Scotsman 07/04/2012

Across

1 Marquis of __ (1612-50), one of the four noblemen who drew up the National Covenant (1638) (8)

5 The ancient Persian god of light (6)

9 Historic royal burgh in the Highlands, the birthplace of Sir Thomas Urquhart (8)

10 Of or pertaining to ringworm (6)

12 A shallow, light boat, sharp at both ends for speed (6)

13 East Asian capital city (pop about 10 million), the venue for the 1988 Olympic Games (5)

16 Alloy of copper and zinc or tin etc, imitating gold (6)

17 An African charm, amulet or spell (8)

20 A hard, colourless mineral of the feldspar family (8)

21 A tree or shrub of warm climates which bears yellow or white flowers (6)

23 Charles __ (b 1945), English actor who starred in The Jewel in the Crown (1984) (5)

25 Dross or slag from metal smelting (6)

28 City in southern Europe (pop about 310,000), the birthplace of Prince Henry the Navigator (6)

29 John __ (1579-1623), an English playwright who wrote The Faithful Shepherdess (8)

30 Old county in southern England (1,461 sq miles; pop about 1.2 million), now divided into two separate counties (6)

31 Island in the Gulf of Guinea, part of a small island nation (372 sq miles; pop 180,000), independent since 1975 (8)

Down

1 Small island in the Inner Hebrides (2.2 sq miles), the smallest of the Small Isles (4)

2 A gaseous element of the noble gas group (4)

3 Needlelike crystals, usually of calcium oxalate, occurring in plant cells (9)

4 The ancient Roman god of agriculture (6)

6 A woody, evergreen Eurasian climbing plant (5)

7 Priestly government (10)

8 Relating to a region of southern Spain which was under Moorish rule from 711 to 1492 (10)

11 A large southern constellation (5)

14 Having one husband or male mate (at a time) (10)

15 Any plants of the composite genus Solidago (10)

18 A church officer (9)

19 Insolence, or abusive language (5)

22 Small Hillfoots town noted for its academy, founded with a bequest of £74,000 (6)

24 To aim, purpose or intend (6)

26 Citizen of a south-east Asian country (198,190 sq miles; pop 67 million), one of the world’s largest exporters of rice (4)

27 One of the Great Lakes (14,939 sq miles) (4)

Last week’s solution:

Across: 3 and 34 Paper tiger, 8 Aboyne, 9 Ochils, 10 Mescal, 11 Aloysius, 12 and 29 Madras, 13 Stance, 14 Isomeres, 17 Isohels, 19 Agraffe, 23 Titanite, 27 Swedes, 30 Heliacal, 31 Addeem, 32 Rigoll, 33 Europa.

Down: 1 Obtest, 2 Hyacinth, 3 Pell-mell, 4 Paladin, 5 Rococo, 6 Chasse, 7 Claude, 13 and 16 Saint-Saens, 15 and 18 Moreen, 20 Gossamer, 21 Aberdare, 22 Herling, 24 Iberis, 25 Asimov, 26 Incult, 28 Exempt.