by Ken Greatorex
Theme: General Skeptical Issues
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ACROSS:
3 Hires, engages, recruits [7]
6 Fabled, celebrated, renowned [9]
8 Prophet [4]
9 One set adrift at sea [8]
11 Small insectivorous songbird [3]
13 Scientologist’s diagnostic tool [6]
16 Type, sort, class, category [3]
17 James Macpherson’s hoax Celtic poet [6]
19 Arms-length organisation funded by a government department but not run by it [6]
20 Surname of the sisters who pioneered spiritualism [3]
21 One of the four tarot suits [4]
22 Unhappy [3]
23 Hebrew god [6]
24 Ape-like cryptid said to inhabit the Himalaya [4]
25 Hollow tube of paper or plastic for drinking [5]
26 Fabled large, hideous, manlike being that eats humans [4]
27 A fraudulent scheme [4]
29 Expose the falseness of an idea or belief [6]
32 Book of Old Norse legends in prose or poem form [4]
33 Spiritual messenger of God [5]
35 Manifest at a given location on a regular basis [5]
37 Common sans-serif typeface or computer font [5]
38 Author of The Raven [3]
39 Inexplicable event attributed to a divine agency [7]
40 Central Greek site of a famous oracle [6]
DOWN:
1 A substance that has no therapeutic effect, used as a control in testing new drugs [7]
2 To supply pasture for cattle to graze, in exchange for payment [5]
4 Annoy; irritate [5]
5 South Asian garment consisting of a length of cotton or silk draped around the body [4]
7 Divining [7]
8 Pace [4]
10 Tibetan ox [3]
11 Semi-conscious state [6]
12 Trick-taking card game lately associated with fortune-telling [5]
14 One who doubts the generally accepted account of an event; conspiracy theorist [7]
15 Slant [4]
18 In astrology, a region of the heavens within about 8° either side of the ecliptic, divided into twelve Signs [6]
20 Obese [3]
21 Faith, religion [5]
22 Join, fasten, or repair with a needle and thread [3]
24 Tug [3]
25 Cry [3]
26 Portent [4]
27 Group of people with religious beliefs which are unorthodox in comparison to those of a larger group to which they belong [4]
28 Italian poet who famously described a conducted tour through Hell [5]
30 Mystery, puzzle, riddle [6]
31 King Arthur’s dad [5]
32 Small, delicate, elusive humanoid figure with magical powers [3]
33 Pungent [5]
34 Cup or platter used by Christ at the Last Supper [5]
36 Sum total of clinical data in support of homeopathy [3]
38 Prefix denoting the paranormal [3]