GKcrossword
By Kate Mepham
Across
1 First World War poet remembered for his series of five sonnets entitled 1914 which includes The Soldier (6)
5 English novelist who created the characters Paul Pennyfeather, Brenda Last, Sebastian Flyte and Aloysius (5)
8 Dense tropical ecosystem and vital habitat which covers around six per cent of the Earth’s surface (6)
13 The second-largest known dwarf planet in the solar system; also the second-largest body in the Kuiper belt (5)
14 City on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth that developed around a castle built by King Malcolm III Canmore in the 11th century (9)
15 US business magnate who was married to the former Olympic skier Ivana Marie Zelnícková (5)
16 Any one of over 100 known substances that cannot be chemically interconverted into a simpler substance (7)
17 Winner −− All; television game show that was originally hosted by Jimmy Tarbuck (5)
18 Member of the Goon Show cast who starred as Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther series of films (7)
19 In the Jewish calendar, the first month of the ecclesiastical year and the seventh month of the civil year (5)
21 The branch of technology and industry concerned with aviation and flight in the Earth’s atmosphere and beyond (9)
24 The name of Bert Baxter’s Alsatian in Sue Townsend’s book The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ (5)
26 Flightless bird in the order Sphenisciformes; also the former name for the great auk (7)
29 Distinctive patch of coloured cloth on a military uniform; also a pre-drawn design template for a tattoo (5)
31 An official ban on commerce and trade with a specific country (7)
33 Nickname for the City of London, the Bank of England and the surrounding areas collectively (6,4)
34 Dry-cured Italian ham served paper-thin in a course of antipasti (10)
36 The Corps of Her Majesty’s Royal −−; branch of the Navy in which personnel are rigorously trained to serve as commandos (7)
37 Rope attached to the clew of a sail to control or alter its direction (5)
38 Glandular organ of a flower which secretes a sugary fluid (7)
39 US poet who wrote the strangely-spelled Little Orphant Annie (5)
41 System of communication based on signalling with a pair of flags (9)
44 Large nest of a bird of prey, especially an eagle (5)
47 Spanish-born tenor noted for his many concert performances with Carreras and Pavarotti (7)
50 In human anatomy, the toughened plates of keratin growing from each of the distal phalanges (5)
52 Dense dark cloud of gas and cosmic dust in a star formation, observed against a brighter background (7)
54 Country with the national anthem Bilady, Bilady, Bilady (5)
55 Violent storm measuring 12 on the Beaufort Scale, also called a tropical cyclone (9)
56 Post-Freudian Austrian-born psychoanalyst and pioneering child psychologist (5)
57 English novelist and playwright who wrote Brighton Rock, The Power and the Glory and The Heart of the Matter (6)
58 Ancient Hebrew unit of liquid volume equal to 10 baths (5)
59 Transition metal in the platinum family which is the densest natural element known, atomic number 76 (6)