52 | New Scientist | 3 October 2020
Cryptic crossword #41 Set by Rasa
Scribble
zoneAnswers and
the next quick
crossword next weekThe back pages Puzzles
Our crosswords are now solvable online
newscientist.com/crosswordsQuick quiz #71
1 What other name was originally
given to 51 Pegasi b, the first
exoplanet orbiting a sun-like star
to be discovered?2 Who referred to mathematics as
the “queen of the sciences”?3 Native to Australia and parts of
Indonesia, Dicaeum hirundinaceum
is a species of bird known for eating
what plant?4 In what year did German pharmacist
Friedrich Sertürner first isolate
morphine from opium?5 The turquoise colour of many glacial
lakes is caused by what substance?Answers on page 55Puzzle
set by Zoe Mensch#79 Marathon relay
Ruritania is thrilled to be hosting
The Continental Games, and the
Queen has decreed that two of
the country’s greatest athletes,
Rimsky and Korsakov, will take
it in turns to carry the torch on its
26.2-mile journey from the harbour
to the stadium. For each leg of the
journey, the athlete can choose
to run for any distance between
1 and 3 miles before handing over
the torch to the other. Of course,
Rimsky and Korsakov both privately
hope that they will be the one who
runs the last leg and hence gets to
light the Continental flame. A coin
is flipped, and Rimsky correctly
calls heads. Should he choose to
run the first leg or should he give
that honour to Korsakov?Answer next weekACROSS
1 Make sound of disapproval at front of
unbecoming skirt (4)
3 Widespread fear about odd characters
in dreams (8)
9 Returning Pixar rat chef cut protein,
for example (7)
10 Father beginning to notice femme fatale (5)
11 In G-suit, Lyra travels region of
infinite gravity (11)
13 Greek island ways described on podcast (6)
15 Measure of reflectivity for nimbus without
first including bottom section (6)
17 Call “unconventional” Roy’s overwhelming
desire for cold cuts? (11)
20 Baker’s ingredient still includes arsenic (5)
21 Affirm perspiration coats circus’s
third ring (5, 2)
22 Bemused, I mentioned covering deposit (8)
23 Hang around, more or less keeping time (4)DOWN
1 Hanging sticky strip at filthy spot infested
with roaches, at first (8)
2 Most of presentation on feature of raptors (5)
4 A test of part of the heart (6)
5 Passes around one’s gardening tool for
spirit plants (12)
6 Deface poem after rejecting Hardy’s
first proposal (5, 2)
7 Inclination to use jargon (4)
8 Enemy summits reconfigured defence
arsenal? (6, 6)
12 Poorly, messily, eviscerate lowly
woodlouse (4-4)
14 Source of fruit or vegetable (7)
16 Welcomes as son, surrounded by
family (4, 2)
18 Feel bad about dropping original bird (5)
19 Indigo and saffron certainly underlying
last bit of red (4)