GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

Across

1. Island country in the Indian Ocean (currency the ariary), which became independent from France in 1960 (10)

6. Roof which is made from straw or reeds (8)

12. “It is a great comfort to some people to ___ over their imaginary ills”: William Makepeace Thackeray (5)

13. Variety of small, green, kidney-shaped French bean (9)

14. Numerical passcode used

transactions (3)

15. Alternative collective name for the Plantagenet kings of England, stemming from their family’s French origins (7)

16. Intense seasonal dust storm in North Africa (6)

18. Younger sister of Julian and Dick in the Famous Five stories (4)

19. Auction house founded by a bookseller in London in 1744 (8)

20. Album into which drawings, cuttings and pictures can be pasted (9)

24. A prediction, based on current information, of a future event (8)

27. Actor mentioned in the Don McLean song American Pie (5,4)

29. ___ Hilton: American blogger, columnist and media personality whose real name is Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr (5)

30. Surname of the actor who received 12 Academy Award nominations between 1970 and 2003, with three wins (9)

32. Sicilian city where Archimedes was killed in 212BC (8)

34. Song released in 2012 by Katy Perry (4,5)

35. State where Abraham Lincoln lived and worked as a lawyer before becoming US president (8)

40. The ‘L’ in the 1970s rock supergroup often abbreviated to ELP (4)

42. Alternative name for football, coined by students at Oxford University in the 1880s (6)

45. American actress and singer who plays Chani in the 2021

Dune and its planned sequel (7)

47. Currency of Laos (3)

48. Native or inhabitant of the most sparsely populated country in Europe, with 3.5 people per sq km (9)

49. State which is the most rural of the 50 in the USA (5)

50.

Hippocampus (8)

51. “A clear and innocent ____ fears nothing”: Elizabeth I (10) Down

1. Ethnic group native to Hungary, also used as an alternative to ‘Hungarians’ (7)

2. Prolonged period of exceptionally low rainfall (7)

3. Patroness saint of Paris in the Roman Catholic tradition (9)

4. Russian tennis player who won the US Open in 2000 and reached No.1 in the men’s rankings that year (5)

5. A complete lack of emotion or motivation (6)

7. ___, Goodbye, song released by the Beatles in 1967 (5)

8. South African Anglican bishop.

died in December 2021 (4)

9. __ __ Pop, 1963 children’s book by Dr. Seuss (3,2)

10. Video game series created by Shigeru Miyamoto (6,4)

11. Greek island in the northeastern Aegean Sea, capital Mytilene (6)

17. Surname of English poet and artist William (1757-1827) and cartoonist and children’s author Quentin (born 1932) (5)

21. Song written by Willie Nelson and popularised by Patsy Cline in 1961 (5)

22. Brand of cookie produced by Nabisco since 1912 (5)

23. Light submachine gun used by British troops during World War II (4)

25. British writer who was a close friend of J.R.R. Tolkien (1,1,5)

26. Character forever associated with the actor Leonard Nimoy (5)

27. “Many a true word is spoken in ___” (4)

28. Crystals of snow, each one having a unique structure (10)

31. morhua (3)

33. City in northern Thailand, founded in 1296, a popular tourist destination (6,3)

36. Biblical character brought back to life four days after his death (7)

37. Stole worn over the left shoulder by a deacon in the Orthodox Church (7)

38. Breed of cat originating in Thailand (7)

39. Frog-shaped chocolate bar produced by Cadbury (6)

41. 10th letter of the Greek alphabet (5)

43. athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games (5)

44.

Kentucky (4)

46. Hungarian inventor of the ballpoint pen (4)

not alone... Everyone’s having a work crisis, too, May 15) with horror & dismay, I have just one thing to say: as a Boomer, I’m with Generation Z.

I worked many years in a nursing career where we did some overtime, sometimes, if a life depended on it, and got paid accordingly. The extreme staff shortages in that career are forcing nurses now to take it for granted, which is appalling; but for salaried employees to feel obliged to work ludicrous hours just because the boss does, disgusts me. Gen Z, stick to your guns.

Elizabeth Revell, Auckland