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 Officer’s servant becomes a crusader in a cape 4 City bully pursues doctors 10 Trim one off, based on qualifications (Two words) 11 A clue about afterthought on shoes (Two words, hyphenated) 12 Second shack is closed 13 Part of the body that needs keys 14 Official document the French provided for unemployed 15 Quiet like this, on foot 16 Worry about offspring 17 Brenda guessing source of complaint 21 Two points – serious score 22 Basic information produced award? Thanks! (Two words) 23 Story about race is just gossip 24 Good man reshaping tree on the way

Down

1 Uplift when last couple turns to footwear 2 Time flies when you’re in ancient Rome (Two words) 3 Affected manners? In Mayfair? Seriously? 5 In concert for single occasion 6 Breaking cage, produce final blow (Three words) 7 We sat around? Rubbish! 8 Makes Chinese food and mix chips (Two words, hyphenated) 9 Call to everyone on a panel (Two words) 15 Form of lightning seen on bed 18 Former spouse joining performing group, to be precise 19 Don’t succeed in giving female trouble 20 Hit a studious person, by the sound of it