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 Singer gets left, showing a sign of fear 4 German to knock father for having a drink 9 Sharpen pen, that’s the best policy 12 Odd way to get a stove 14 A politician may be a bit current 15 Building lake before tree 16 Gradually gather a great deal 17 Lord in a convertible first, say 18 Small animal with large expression 20 Work out one fern hybrid 22 About to have nothing but eggs 23 At home, merit turned out to be temporary 25 Youngster gets an attorney to dance 27 A sandwich on every side 28 Flyer has conflict to look out for

Down

2 Noel moved to river, a solitary figure 3 Somewhere to rest in Scotland 5 Truth about a boring routine 6 Pressure also on a bearlike animal 7 Explosive to be appropriate for casual outfit (Two words) 8 Current joke about time to get some paper (Two words) 10 Student produces small choral composition 11 Supporter of sailing is a distance in front of member 12 Canine improves in leaps 13 Kingdom is included for authenticity 19 New route is furthest from the centre 21 Fellow left tune as a gift 24 Spinning around a pub 26 Faced with an expert