BARE BONES

WIN A COLLINS ENGLISH DICTIONARY AND THESAURUS SET, AND A BRADFORD’S CROSSWORD SOLVER’S DICTIONARY

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 fourway symmetry: both top and bottom and left and right match, so you can fill in 12 more squares straight away.

ACROSS

1 Pass ward damaged by political hostility (Two words) 5 Endurance gets small thanks and main trouble 9 Youngster takes half our capital to ancient city 10 Asking Dominic to go round the realm 12 Novel about having registered singer 13 Island acquired by fat landowner 14 Catholic remaining without last key 15 Religious image of prison’s third prisoner 17 Model talked about part of the river 19 Slightly open a receptacle 21 Able to work with soldier with new nationality 22 Socially awkward rustic to knock family 23 In total, every single person got informed (Two words) 24 Future of French society – very small

DOWN

2 Broadcasting about the atmosphere (Two words) 3 Light – also dark – all the time (Three words) 4 A charge to see a coral structure 6 A few notes from a criminal gang 7 Accept a grim form of conveyance (Two words) 8 Soon returned with the last rope 11 The old get one heartless lad to surrender 16 Caught spool in a basket 17 Depict student as having slow pronunciation 18 An appealing sort of angle 20 Strange to send a line

There is a prize of a Collins English Dictionary and Thesaurus set, and a Bradford’s Crossword Solver’s Dictionary. Send your solution to: Bare Bones Puzzle No 862, The Mail on Sunday, PO Box 3451, Norwich NR7 7NR. Entries must arrive by Friday, October 26 (photocopies not accepted). The winner’s name will be published on November 11 from the first correct entry drawn. Winner of Bare Bones No 859: Mrs B. Caldecourt, of Olney, Buckinghamshire.