If you prefer to work on the interactive version, click on this LINK.

Across

    7  Roman statesman and philosopher who was an advisor to Nero (6)

    8  Guided missile developed by the French government for use against ships (6)

    9  Supreme god of ancient Greek mythology (4)

  10  Queen of Castile whose marriage to Ferdinand of Aragon in 1469 marked the beginning of the modern state of Spain (8)

  11  Italian sculptor and architect of the baroque period in Italy; designed many churches and chapels and tombs and fountains (1598-1680) (7)

  13  White South Africans who speak Afrikaans as their first language (5)

  15  Book in the Old Testament that tells the story of a man swallowed by a whale (5)

  16  Member of the French-speaking people living in Belgium (7)

  18  Dialect of Chinese spoken in Beijing and adopted as the official language for all of China (8)

  19  Hebrew patriarch who saved himself and his family and the animals by building an ark (4)

  21  Capital and largest city and major port of the Irish Republic (6)

  22  One of the principal names by which God is designated in the Hebrew Scriptures (6)

Down

    1  Goddess of youth and spring; wife of Hercules; daughter of Zeus and Hera; cupbearer to the Olympian gods (4)

    2  South African statesman who was released from prison to become the nation’s president after the first multi-racial election in 1994 (born in 1918) (6,7)

    3  English writer of stories for children (1882-1956) (1,1,5)

    4  French impressionist painter (1834-1917) (5)

    5  A fortress in London on the Thames; used as a palace and a state prison and now as a museum containing the crown jewels (5,2,6)

    6  Resort Island off the coast of Florida (3,5)

  12  Roman name for York (8)

  14  Volcanic peak in the south-west of Washington State (7)

  17  River in central England that flows generally northeastward to join with the Ouse River and form the Humber (5)

  20  Largest continent with 60% of the earth’s population; it is joined to Europe on the west to form Eurasia; it is the site of some of the world’s earliest civilizations (4)

Here is last week’s solution – of course, the only vowel in the across clues was A:

This crossword honours a number of people who are of a kind. If you prefer to work on the interactive version click on this LINK.

Across

    1  See 8

    5  See 22

8/14/1   US Secretary of State from January 2009 (born 1947) (7,6,7)

    9  The revolving bar of a distributor (5)

  10  Become ground down or deteriorate (5)

  11  (Military) close fighting during the culmination of a military attack (7)

  12  English novelist noted for her insightful portrayals of middle-class families (1775-1817) (6)

  14  See 8

  17  A four-wheeled wagon that runs on tracks in a mine (7)

  19  Valley of Peneus in Thessaly praised by ancient poets for its great beauty (5)

22/5 French chemist (born in Poland) who won two Nobel prizes; one (with her husband and Henri Becquerel) for research on radioactivity and another for her discovery of radium and polonium (1867-1934) (5,5)

  23  Jewel cut in a pointed oval shape (7)

  24  Misfortune resulting in lost effort or money (5)

  25  Adornment consisting of an ornamental cloth pad worn on the shoulder (7)

Down

    1  Fatty pinkish flesh of small salmon caught in the Pacific and Great Lakes (5)

    2  An Eskimo hut; usually built of blocks (of sod or snow) in the shape of a dome (5)

    3  A swing used by circus acrobats (7)

    4  Deny or contradict (6)

5/21 United States tennis player who won women’s singles titles in the United States and at Wimbledon (born in 1954) (0,5,5)

    6  (Photography) alter so as to produce a more desirable appearance (7)

    7  A mistake in printed matter resulting from mechanical failures of some kind (7)

  12  (Greek mythology) the virgin goddess of the hunt and the Moon; daughter of Leto and twin sister of Apollo; identified with Roman Diana (7)

  13  Any of several small dull-coloured singing birds feeding on seeds or insects (7)

  15  Fourth wife of Marc Antony (7)

  16  English novelist; one of three sisters (1818-1848) (6)

  18  A cry or shout of approval (5)

  20  Any of several chemical elements that are usually shiny solids that conduct heat or electricity and can be formed into sheets etc. (5)

  21  See 5

Here is last week’s solution:

If you prefer to work on the interactive version, click on this LINK.

Across

    1  Trooped round submarine weapon (7)

    4  Well-considered director involved in complicated duties (7)

    9  British have need of spice – pungent aromatic one (5,6)

  11  Lake modified in Eire (4)

  12  Scottish version of 12 (4)

  13  One old instrument on a modern one – a bass stringed one (11)

  14  Anything locally returned for a pair (3)

  15  In France end of an aeroplane tail section (3)

  16  A French commodity brought in by a worker, of little significance (11)

  21  Company in Italy has ordinary Italian method of greeting (4)

  22  One’s different ages (4)

  23  Peculiarly compose path in heap of manure (7,4)

  24  Unwonted red tape slowly diminishing in size (7)

  25  Drunkenly steal by like a brute (7)

Down

    1  Disastrous latest count for someone spotting able people (6,5)

    2  Roman caps in heap on island (5)

    3  Of the French leading aircraftman turning up – suitable for a noble! (5)

    5  Tent is a peculiar masterpiece, not including misguided racism (5)

    6  Remain and perform in a good manner without a hint of opposition (5)

    7  Sly hedonist running wild in a way that lacks integrity (11)

    8  Hospitality to all in old top floor flat with no limit finally (4,5)

    9  US Taxi turns up round four on Open University temporary living quarters (7)

  10  In a turmoil opt for ordinary surface of building (7)

  17  Nobody’s energy after lunchtime (2,3)

  18  Strangely ample tree (5)

  19  Tittering laugh of man surrounded by support (5)

  20  Nasty snare comes closer (5)

Here is last week’s solution:

If you prefer to work on the interactive version, click on this LINK.

Across

    1  A low heavy horse cart without sides; used for haulage (4)

    3  Breed of Lake District sheep (8)

    9  A great musician; when his wife Eurydice died he went to Hades to get her back but failed (7)

  10  King of Judea who (according to the New Testament) tried to kill Jesus by ordering the death of all children under age two in Bethlehem (73-4 BC) (5)

  11  European bunting the male being bright yellow (12)

  14  Swiss canton (3)

  16  French neoclassical painter who actively supported the French Revolution (1748-1825) (5)

  17  United States general who supervised the invasion of Normandy and the defeat of Nazi Germany; 34th President of the United States (1890-1969) (3)

  18  Beautiful place where Adam and Eve were placed at the Creation (6,2,4)

  21  Any of a class of organic compounds that contain the divalent radical -CONHCO (5)

  22  Women participants in the orgiastic rites of Dionysus (7)

  23  Metric unit of length equal to one ten billionth of a meter (or 0.0001 micron); used to specify wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation (8)

  24  Adam’s son (4)

Down

    1  God of wine and fertility and drama; the Greek name of Bacchus (8)

    2  A sharp blow with the épée, also used as a feint (5)

    4  Winged goddess of the dawn in ancient mythology; daughter of Hyperion; identified with Roman Aurora (3)

    5  Device for removing the moisture content from air (12)

    6  Of or relating to or characteristic of a middle eastern country (7)

    7  Scottish sea captain who was hired to protect British shipping in the Indian Ocean and then was accused of piracy and hanged (1645-1701) (4)

    8  Reappearance of Jesus as judge for the Last Judgment (6,6)

  12  Shelter serving as a place of safety or sanctuary (5)

  13  Englishman and Victorian poet (1809-1892) (8)

  15  Obtaining pictures of the interior of the body (7)

  19  Virgin goddess of the hunt and the Moon; counterpart of Greek Artemis (5)

  20  Finely meshed cotton fabric used for cross-stitch embroidery (4)

  22  Chinese communist leader (1893-1976) (3)

Here is last week’s solution:

If you prefer to work on the interactive version, click on this LINK.
.

Across

1  Capital of modern Macedonia (6)

4  United States composer (1910-1981) (6)

9  French writer and film maker who worked in many artistic media (1889-1963) (7)

10  (Old Testament) the second patriarch; son of Abraham and Sarah who was offered by Abraham as a sacrifice to God; father of Jacob and Esau (5)

11  Immature free-living form of most invertebrates and amphibians and fish which at hatching from the egg is fundamentally unlike its parent and must metamorphose (5)

12  English essayist who with Richard Steele founded the Spectator in 1711 (7)

13  Birth-control campaigner who in 1921 opened the first birth control clinic in London (1880-1958) (5,6)

18  Hunter transformed into a stag by Artemis (7)

20  Resort city in Crimea in the southern Ukraine on the Black Sea; site of the Allied conference between Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill in February 1945 (5)

22  Muted (5)

23  Mountainous republic in central Europe (7)

24  Capital of the Bahamas (6)

25  Young swan (6)

Down

1  Largest island in the Mediterranean (6)

2  Annual award by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for achievements in motion picture production and performance (5)

3  Rhyming slang for a taxi (3,4)

5  Behind in Scotland (5)

6  Blue lake in Switzerland (7)

7  French advocate of Jansenism; tragedian who based his works on Greek and Roman themes (1639-1699) (6)

8  United States writer (1933-2004) (5,6)

14  Brightest star in Scorpius (7)

15  Greek epic poem (attributed to Homer) (7)

16  Judge of Israel who performed herculean feats of strength against the Philistines until he was betrayed to them by his mistress Delilah (6)

17  Town in Hampshire, southern England (6)

19  Severe and often fatal disease in humans and nonhuman primates (monkeys and chimpanzees) caused by a virus (5)

21  Italian film actress (born in 1934) (5)

Here is last week’s solution.

If you prefer to work on the interactive version, click on this LINK.

A number of small friends are concealed in the grid, their names are unclued.

Across

    1  It is classier if sorted out (10)

    7  unclued light (3)

  11  unclued light (5)

  14  Italian city gown (6)

  16  unclued light (3)

  17  Pounds found concealed in death robes (6)

  19  unclued light (6)

  20  Make a low noise (3)

  22  Candidates see test all wrong (7)

  24  Meet assembly and shell out (4)

  25  Deem bereavement contains ash (5)

  27  Travel showing some skill (3)

  28  Belief he holds either way (5)

  30  Imposing Bollywood production (4)

  32  Extend sentence (7)

  34  Tough guy to spread grass (3)

  35  Tincture gives one Norse god energy (6)

  39  unclued light (6)

  40  Eggs alternately produced by no avian (3)

  42  No thanks for holy signs – indeed it’s opprobrium (6)

  43  Misshapen solid effigies (5)

  44  Leaders of Harrods’ antique show produce expressions of surprise (3)

  45  Plant and pelt timber with missiles (two words) (6,4)

Down

    1  Skilled struggle for book (9)

    2  A din reportedly vexes (6)

    3  Fix crooked type of sailing vessel (hyphenated) (6-6)

    4  Remote air force turning up (3)

    5  Grant entry to large number during introit (8)

    6  unclued light (6)

    7  They are skilled at rowing but singular moaners (7)

    8  Old Scots coin an object of interest (4)

    9  Be an awful scourge (4)

  10  Either way he’s a sweet-smelling guy (4)

  12  World traveller plays well in Harlem (12)

  13  Give Chanel a drink? (5)

  15  Devoured god! (3)

  18  Regular heirs of the male (3)

  21  Out for personal profit – uses oddly ornate hoe – I’m rankled (three words) (2,3,4)

  23  Collapse, collapse, for a cutlet! (8)

  26  Flat surface and hollows as repositories for night soil (7)

  29  Steward regarding the first lady (5)

  31  Prince a stimulus to the listener (6)

  32  Prosecute girl (3)

  33  unclued light (6)

  35  Possessive – deals a blow wanting heroin (3)

  36  We’d rip it revealing projecting edge (4)

  37  Select company is without hesitation unfeeling (4)

  38  unclued light (4)

  41  Play up endlessly in mountain pasture (3)

Here is last week’s solution:

If you prefer to use the interactive version, click on this LINK.

Across

    1  UK government scheme allowing doners to reclaim tax on donations (4,3)

    5  Showing fear and lack of confidence (5)

    8  Black hornless breed from Scotland (8,5)

    9  Young goat (3)

  10  Series of travel guidebooks published by a German firm (9)

  12  Under shelter in France (1,5)

  13  Savoury jellies (6)

  15  To take out of the earth (9)

  16  Unit of weight for wool equal to about 28 pounds (3)

  18  Popular child actress of the 1930′s (born in 1928) (7,6)

  20  Person born in the United States of parents who emigrated from Japan (5)

  21  Drinks made of wine and hot water with sugar and lemon juice and nutmeg (7)

Down

    1  Old Scottish trick (5)

    2  Errors that result from the operation of unconscious wishes or conflicts and can reveal unconscious processes in normal healthy individuals (8,5)

    3  Brightest star in Taurus (9)

    4  Internal-combustion engine that burns heavy oil (6)

    5  Beverage made by steeping leaves in water (3)

    6  Memory devices consisting of long thin plastic strips coated with iron oxide; used to record audio or video signals or to store computer information (8,5)

    7  Ceases to employ or practise (7)

  11  Ovoid candy used to celebrate Easter (6,3)

  12  English essayist, poet, dramatist and Whig politician, noted for his simple, unornamented prose style. In 1711 he founded the Spectator with Sir Richard Steele. (7)

  14  English preacher and author of an allegorical novel, Pilgrim’s Progress (1628-1688) (6)

  17  Sediment that has settled at the bottom of a liquid (5)

  19  Flower arrangement consisting of a circular band of foliage or flowers for ornamental purposes (3)

Here is last week’s solution. Of course the thematic personality was Toulouse Lautrec.

If you prefer to work on the interactive version, click on this LINK.

Across
7 Jewish heroine in one of the books of the Apocrypha; she saved her people by decapitating the Assyrian general Holofernes (6)
8 The capital and largest city of Iran; located in northern Iran (6)
9 Republic in the Middle East in western Asia; home of the ancient civilization of Mesopotamia (4)
10 The main character in a play and novel by J. M. Barrie; a boy who won’t grow up (5,3)
11 Queen of the fairies in medieval folklore (7)
13  wife of Abraham and mother of Isaac (5)
15 Of two collections of Scandinavian mythological and heroic songs (5)
16 In the Arabian Nights a boy who acquires a magic lamp from which he can summon a genie (7)
18 Trojan boy who was so beautiful that Zeus carried him away to serve as cupbearer to the gods (8)
19 Local area network that uses high frequency radio signals to transmit and receive data over distances of a few hundred feet; uses ethernet protocol (2-2)
21 Building containing public baths (6)
22 Greek god of darkness who dwelt in the underworld; son of Chaos; brother of Nox; father of Aether and Day (6)

Down
1 Tributary of the Rhine (4)
2 Depriving of legal right (13)
3 English comedian and film maker; portrayed a downtrodden little man in baggy pants and bowler hat (1889-1977) (7)
4 The territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation (5)
5 Dealt with very quickly; to the point (5,3,5)
6 Dutch dancer who was executed by the French as a German spy in World War I (1876-1917) (4,4)
12 Large sailing ship that was engaged in the British trade with the east (8)
14 Piece of soft absorbent paper (usually two or more thin layers) used as a disposable handkerchief (7)
17 Greek author of fables (circa 620-560 BC) (5)
20 Not genuine or real; being an imitation of the genuine article (4)

Here is last week’s solution. The five characters were, of course, the members of the Simpson family.

If you prefer to work on the interactive version, click on this LINK.

Five unclued lights can be found in the sixth.

Across

    3  Abysmal kit sorted out erroneously (10)

    8  US state by bad luck has soul (6)

    9  Revolutionary independent wandering aborigianal people (5)

  10  Rather gripping special code (5)

  11  For Spenser to get hold of English coarse file (7)

  14  Colossal gorilla on Island, beast from Africa (7)

  16  Overflow in Scotland of quantity of paper (4)

  17  Stupidly in jest to throw overboard (8)

  19  Happy, produced short, gruff noises including bit of laughter (8)

  21  Female antelope turns into legendary creature (4)

  22  Tried rotten seed, say (7)

  25  Poems – brief numbers to interpret primarily (6)

  26  New heater badly made of baked clay perhaps (7)

  27  Gloomy without teeth or claws! (5)

  28  US military’s preliminary survey – peculiar oncer (5)

  29  Habitual story tellers return surrounding English quarters for women (6)

  30  Confused setter needs confidence placed in him for believability from Joe six-pack (6-4)

Down

    1  Unusually lame male and strangely greyer large Eurasian bird (11)

    2  People in vessels catching large fatty fish (8)

    4  Coil of yarn, unusually silken lacking length (5)

    5  Regularly farm in aid of the type of vertebrate animal (7)

    6  Soul to depart in basketwork palanquin in Japan (4)

    7  Second letters for hired thugs (6)

  12  Passes on presents for example getting into serious breaks in friendly relations (7)

  13  Athlete stirred up my angst (7)

  15  Not quite nice holding bulb that doesn’t form electrically charged particles (3-5)

  18  Determining condition of disturbed melee over set of books (7)

  20  Universal more stable moneylender (6)

  23  Moves with speed up instrument (5)

  24  Tangled hose in footwear (4)

Here is last week’s solution:

Here’s one to set you thinking about countries. If you prefer to work on the interactive version, click on this LINK.

Across

    7  Second largest continent (6)

    8  Scandinavian kingdom in the eastern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula (6)

    9  Island in Indonesia to the south of Borneo; one of the world’s most densely populated regions (4)

  10  Language or speech of one individual at a particular period in life (8)

  11  Republic in northwestern Africa on the Mediterranean Sea with a population that is predominantly Sunni Muslim; colonized by France in the 19th century but gained autonomy in the early 1960s (7)

  13  Republic in the Asian subcontinent in southern Asia; second most populous country in the world; achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1947 (5)

  15  Severe and often fatal disease in humans and nonhuman primates (monkeys and chimpanzees) caused by a virus (5)

  17  City recognized by the United States as the capital of the Ivory Coast; largest city of the Ivory Coast (7)

  20  Capital and largest city of Nepal (8)

  21  Town in western Alaska on the southern coast of the Seward Peninsula; an important centre of an Alaskan gold rush at the beginning of the 20th century (4)

  23  Northern family of Germanic languages that are spoken in Scandinavia and Iceland (6)

  24  Republic in central Africa; formerly controlled by Great Britain and called Northern Rhodesia until it gained independence within the commonwealth in 1964 (6)

Down

    1  King of Mercia 757-96 who organised the construction of a Dyke (4)

    2  Roman procurator of Judea who ordered that Jesus be crucified (died in AD 36) (6)

    3  Republic in southwestern Africa on the south Atlantic coast (formerly called South West Africa); achieved independence from South Africa in 1990 (7)

    4  Savoury jelly based on fish or meat stock used as a mould for meats or vegetables (5)

    5  Island in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of India (6)

    6  Communist nation that covers a vast territory in eastern Asia; the most populous country in the world (3,5)

  12  Section of a province in the eastern part of a large peninsula in northeastern Canada (8)

  14  Mountainous region of central Italy on the Adriatic (7)

  16  11th letter of the Greek alphabet (6)

  18  Generator consisting of a coil (the armature) that rotates between the poles of an electromagnet (the field magnet) causing a current to flow in the armature (6)

  19  (North UK) a door latch (5)

  22  Be agitated (4)

Here is last week’s solution: