GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

Across 1.

Prime Minister of Australia from 1939-1941 and 1949-1966 (7)

5. First public performance (5)

8. Basketball team which has been based in Milwaukee since its creation in 1968 (5)

11. Wine merchant (7)

12. Small, grotesque creatures that make trouble for humans (7)

13. Juggling or circus prop, spun on a string attached to two sticks (7)

14. American legal drama series starring Andy Griffith in the title role (1986-1995) (7)

16. Architectural feature held together with a keystone (4)

18. Spanish word for goodbye (5)

19. People who have trouble focusing on close things (3,7)

23. Islands formed by a marine colonial polyp characterised by a calcareous skeleton (6)

25. A Grand __ __, British animated short film starring Wallace and Gromit (3,3)

28. Dance which is modelled on the Spanish bullfight (4,5)

29. One of the body’s seven centres of spiritual power (6)

32. Men’s top division of the Spanish football league (2,4)

33. Toy dog breed named after a region in northwest Poland and northeast Germany (10)

36. ____ ‘Em All, war song first recorded by George Formby (5)

37. First name of Jackman and Hefner (4)

39. Fictional planet, destroyed when pulled into the sun, with only one inhabitant, a child, escaping (7)

42. Organised series of boat races (7)

43. Lake in central Switzerland, noted for its beauty (7)

44. ____ Beat, British trio whose debut single was Smalltown Boy (7)

45. Long teeth on a wild boar or walrus (5)

46. Stage name of Mary Elizabeth Spacek (5)

47. Blake ___, country music singer who married Gwen Stefani in July 2021 (7)

Down

1. Second studio album released by Lorde (9)

2. Czech-American tennis player who won 18 Grand Slam singles titles (11)

3. One of the three main types of rock (7)

4. Farewell party for someone setting out on a new venture (4-3)

5. Wheat used to make pasta (5)

6. Manufacturer which produced two cars capable of over 400km/h, the Veyron and Chiron (7)

7. Something sacred and/or forbidden (5)

8. Division of General Motors started by a Scottish born American inventor in 1899 (5)

9. Fine sugar used in baking (6)

10. Battle of the US Civil War fought on April 6-7, 1862, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing (6)

15. A fortress or stronghold, especially one guarding or surrounding a city (7)

16. Marvin Lee __, real name of American singer Meatloaf (4)

17. Island province in the Philippines, a popular tourist destination (4)

20. Song by American band Smash Mouth, featured in the opening credits of the 2001 film Shrek (3,4)

21. Name of a horse racing course in Surrey, England, and a motorsport track in Melbourne (7)

22. Italian who co-founded a luxury fashion house with Domenico Dolce in 1985 (7)

24. Person who sends bulk unwanted email (7)

26. Charles Dickens’ second novel, with multiple film versions made (6,5)

27. Lost in ___, 2003 film starring Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson (11)

30. American subscription videoon-demand service (4)

31. 11th letter of the Hebrew alphabet (4)

34. Giant figure in Greek and Berber mythology who got his strength from his mother, Gaea (7)

35. “A well adjusted person is one who makes the same mistake

twice without getting ___”: Alexander Hamilton (7)

36. Fibrous material which remains after crushing sugar cane, and is used as a biofuel (7)

37. Son of William Shakespeare, who died aged 11 (6)

38. Surname of the British adventurer and television presenter whose rarely-used first names are Edward Michael (6)

39. Slang term for sneakers or athletic shoes (5)

40. The Whole Nine ___, 2000 film starring Bruce Willis and Matthew Perry (5)

41. Nickname which was commonly given to someone with the surname Clark/Clarke (5)

movement, several words have survived perfectly intact: e.g. middleman, yes-man, conman, straw man, hitman, henchman, one-upmanship, Big Brother and manhandle. Apparently, the neutralisers prefer these negative ideas to remain exclusively male.

Gavan O’Farrell, Lower Hutt

Fishy business

It’s interesting to read that under the new trade agreement with the UK, increased export of our hoki fish stocks will be permitted.

Let’s hope it’s not at the cost of a shortage of hoki back home, especially in the takeaway business, where it will probably be replaced by cheap imported basa, bred in polluted water and so full of toxins it’s banned in some countries, including the US.

Anyone who has experienced the degree of food poisoning that results from eating the putrid stuff, as I have and many, many others have, would have it banned from our supermarket shelves as well.

A large importer to India is on record as stating ‘‘I sell it but I wouldn’t eat it’’.

John Leith, Oakura