Factfinder’s Crossword - The Scotsman 11/08/2012

ACROSS

1 Melina __ (1923-94), Greek actress, singer and politician who starred in Never on Sunday (1960) (8)

5 African capital city (pop 1.6 million), founded as a fort in 1890 (6)

9 Lines drawn on a map showing all points with an equal numerical value (8)

10 French ferry port (pop 75,000), captured in 1558 from English control (6)

12 The heaven of Norse mythology (6)

13 European country (194,959 sq miles; pop about 46 million), which in 1986 joined the EU (5)

16 One of a later generation (6)

17 An ingenious turn of expression, or a conceit (8)

20 Albert __ (1879-1955), German-born US scientist who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921 (8)

21 One of a tribe of native Americans, originally in Nebraska (6)

23 North Italian city (pop about 700,000), the birthplace of Christopher Columbus (c 1451) (5)

25 A heavy wooden mallet (6)

28 A plant of the nettle genus (6)

29 Ancient African city, founded as a Phoenician colony, which became a major rival to Rome (8)

30 City in the south-west of England (pop 110,000), with a cathedral founded in the early 12th century (6)

31 A thickening of the inner coat of arteries (8)

DOWN

1 John __ (1838-1914), Dunbar-born conservationist who founded the Sierra Club (4)

2 An Indian peasant (4)

3 Part of the Florentine or other iris, dried, and used in perfumery (5-4)

4 Allan __ (1713-84), Edinburgh-born artist appointed in 1767 as portrait painter to George III (6)

6 John __ (1767-1848), lawyer and diplomat who was the sixth president of the United States (5)

7 Now obsolete term for magnetically attractive (10)

8 Dwight D __ (1890-1969), US general who was the 34th president of the United States (10)

11 A theatre for musical contests in ancient Greece (5)

14 A reddish first-magnitude star in Orion’s shoulder (10)

15 A sweet-scented Reseda (10)

18 Large US city (pop 1.8 million), first settled around 1755, now a major financial centre (9)

19 A rapier or sword (5)

22 The eastern Mediterranean and its shores (6)

24 Archaic spelling for a leg joint (5)

26 Irish county (2,085 sq miles; pop 130,000) (4)

27 The queen of the gods in Greek mythology (4)

Last week’s solution:

Across: 1 Stonechat, 6 Lagos, 9 Iceland, 10 Marabou, 11 Herse, 12 Malleolar, 13 Agami, 14 Turbulent, 17 Goldenrod, 19 Albee, 21 Redingote, 24 Ictal, 26 Theaves, 27 Olivier, 28 Mills, 29 Stevenson.

Down: 1 Smith, 2 Olearia, 3 Elaterite, 4 Hodometer, 5 Tamil, 6 Larne, 7 Gabelle, 8 Soubrette, 13 Algorithm, 15 Ridge-pole, 16 Uraninite, 18 Liddell, 20 Betties, 22 Nevis, 23 Oasts, 25 Loren.