Factfinder’s crossword - The Scotsman 21/12/13

Saturday’s puzzle...

ACROSS

1 An opaque reddish-brown semi-precious stone (6)

4 Lines drawn on a map showing all points which have an equal numerical value (8)

9 The herald of the gods in Greek mythology (6)

10 A long wooden pin used to fasten the planks of a ship to the timbers (8)

12 A sudden violent movement (5)

13 Rough-napped cloth, generally dark blue (9)

14 Region of southern Japan (464 sq miles; pop

about 1.4 million), the site of a major battle in 1945 (7)

15 US state (41,330 sq miles; pop about 12 million), also

known as the Buckeye State (4)

19 Dame Rebecca __ (1892 - 1983), Irish-born author

who wrote The Return of the Soldier (1918) (4)

21 A lady’s maid (7)

24 The first leaf that sprouts from a germinating seed (bot) (9)

26 A leaf (often modified) that bears a flower in its axil (5)

27 Old name for a large Chinese city (pop about 13 million), the largest seaport in northern China (8)

28 Member of a low caste in southern India (6)

29 Areas of the ocean around the equator where calms and baffling winds prevail (naut) (8)

30 An ancient Greek coin of various kinds (6)

DOWN

1 Tom __ (1881 - 1965), Labour politician who was Scottish Secretary from 1941 to 1945 (8)

2 Aleksandr __ (1872 - 1915), Russian pianist and composer noted for his Poem of Ecstasy (1908) (8)

3 A large shallow lake or marsh (9)

5 A passage, especially a coda, in quicker time (mus) (7)

6 Germaine __ (b 1939), Australian-born academic who wrote The Female Eunuch (1970) (5)

7 A lawless ruffian or hooligan in Paris (6)

8 Tragedy by Oscar Wilde, premiered in Paris in 1896 (6)

11 A Hebrew measure for dry goods (4)

16 Plant cell that differs from neighbouring cells in the same tissue (9)

1 7 A genus of labiate aromatic plants allied to thyme (8)

18 John __ (1579 - 1625), Jacobean playwright who wrote The Faithful Shepherdess (8)

20 An isotope of hydrogen of triple mass (chem) (7)

21 Small African tree, now common in the West Indies, or its edible fruit (4)

22 Any member of a genus of insects of the cockroach family (6)

23 A severe trial or examination (6)

25 Archaic term for a cobbler (5)

Last week’s solution:

Across: 1 Haddington, 9 Hera, 10 Bathymeter, 11 Murray, 12 Rusma, 15 Gowan, 18 Clamp, 19 Estella, 20 Lotus, 21 Midge, 22 Tonneau, 23 Saros,

24 Sonse, 26 Avena, 29 Ithaca, 31 Rhinoceros, 32 Lade, 33 Nonchalant. Down: 2 Adam, 3 Dahlia, 4 Namur , 5 Titus, 6 Norma, 7 Bear garden, 8

Barysphere, 13 Ustinov, 14 Mullein, 15 Galashiels, 16 Watersheds, 17 Nests, 18 Camus, 25 Orwell, 26 Aaron, 27 Elian, 28 Avoch, 30 Bonn