BARE BONES

Our Bare Bones Crossword is unique because you have to complete the grid – numbers and squares – as well. We have inserted four black squares and four clue numbers to get you going. The crossword has a four-way symmetry: both top and bottom and left and right match, so you can fill in 12 more squares straight away. There is a prize of a Collins Pocket Thesaurus. Send your solution to: Bare Bones Puzzle No.635, The Irish Mail on Sunday, PO Box 5332, Cardiff Lane, Dublin 2. Entries must arrive by Friday (photocopies not accepted). The winner of Bare Bones No.634 is Samuel Martin, Cootehill, Co. Cavan.

Across

1 Intoxicated by British game of chance 4 A great deal of snow is floating 9 Volunteers sending cabs round? Sauce! 12 A row about the Spanish studio 14 Some bread for a swan 15 Nuisance coming back, taking turn to protect 16 Tapas turned out to be Italian food 17 Each are different, causing pain 18 Enough avocados to contain waste 20 Search hurriedly to find a firearm 22 Not any overheard a devout woman 23 Country airing problem with eastern front 25 Hard of the French crowd to remove bishop 27 Set of instructions about mixed spice? Not initially 28 Qualification, to an extent

Down

2 Scales are calibrated in the middle 3 Twitch at seeing correct sign uncompleted 5 Party time comes to a full stop 6 Cooks accompaniment for a burger 7 Theatre worker gets a strange round of applause (Two words) 8 Pause, yet to cover costs (Two words) 10 Son ordered a cider and a cocktail 11 Old vehicle at home with a primitive instrument 12 Leave sailor and assistant wasting energy 13 Sovereign ruler in temper, ordinarily 19 Victory over fever unclear 21 Short story is loud and capable 24 Italy’s first prime minister turned into a rascal 26 Take liberties with American English