Factfinder’s crossword - The Scotsman 31/03/2012

ACROSS

3 & 34 Person, or organisation that appears powerful but is in fact the reverse (5,5)

8 Village in the north-east, the site of the Formaston Stone, a Pictish cross-slab (6)

9 Range of hills running from the Forth to the Tay (6)

10 An intoxicant distilled from agave (6)

11 Mountain in Western Australia (2,051 ft), near the border with South Australia (8)

12 & 29 Former name for large city in southern India (pop more than 6 million), established in 1639 (6)

13 A building site (6)

14 Organs or segments corresponding to or homologous with others (zool) (8)

17 Contour lines of equal amounts of sunshine (7)

19 A hooked clasp (7)

23 A greenish-yellow or brown mineral occurring in granitic rocks (8)

27 Citizens of northern European country (175,745 sq miles; pop about 9.5 million), which joined the EU in 1995 (6)

29 See 12 across

30 Relating to or near the sun (8)

31 Old term for adjudge or award (6)

32 A gutter or water channel (6)

33 The fourth-largest moon of Jupiter (6)

34 See 3 across

DOWN

1 To adjure, or call to witness (6)

2 A bulbous plant of the lily family (8)

3 A hand-to-hand fight (4-4)

4 One of the 12 peers of Charlemagne’s household (7)

5 An artistic movement of the 18th century, originating in France (6)

6 A dram or liqueur taken after coffee (6)

7 French artist (1600-82), noted for his ideal-landscape paintings (6)

13 & 16 French composer (1835-1921), who created The Carnival of the Animals (1886) (5-5)

15 & 18 A stout corded fabric (6)

16 See 13 down

18 See 15 down

20 Any light, thin, delicate material (8)

21 Industrial town in south Wales (pop about 30,000), once a major coal-mining centre (8)

22 A young sea trout (7)

24 The Candytuft genus of Cruciferae (6)

25 Isaac __ (1919-92), Russian-born American writer who wrote the seven-volume Foundation series (6)

26 Rare term for uncultivated, coarse or uncultured (6)

28 Free from an obligation or liability imposed on others (6)

Last week’s solution:

Across: 1 Dunnet Head, 6 Halm, 10 Vientiane, 11 Nitid, 12 Seance, 13 Fleming, 15 Archangel, 18 Moils, 19 Byron, 21 Abyssinia, 23 Anadems, 24 Paigle, 27 Thill, 28 Otterburn, 29 Erne, 30 Hemostasis.

Down: 1 Davy, 2 Nieve, 3 Estonia, 4 Heave, 5 Aberfeldy, 7 Attrition, 8 Madagascar, 9 Anselm, 14 Dalbeattie, 16 Carnation, 17 Gladstone, 20 Niello, 22 Skirret, 24 Potto, 25 Louis, 26 Gnus.