BARE BONES
Complete the grid – numbers and squares. 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. Answer next week.
Across
1 Thingummy may not thaw out
5 In Cairo, a chub is a fish
7 Your first chat about vessel
10 Turn up at British tavern
11 Current hit being religion
12 Place of birth
13 Notice bullet, say, meant for mollusc (Two words)
15 Scot disturbed by price 16 Pals out of range
17 Reveal fellow entertainer
21 Finished on time, that’s obvious 22 Force enemy to land
23 Catch in one trap
24 Daughter and friend hang around
25 Writer goes to church to get money
26 The last manoeuvre displays furtiveness
Down
1 Urges husband during organised swim
2 Brightest star in terminal phase
3 Why one has to knock, say, for prize guy?
4 Attempting to remove second drawing 5 I move cauldron around for water supplier (Two words)
6 Reassuring assessment will sell a conversion (Three words)
8 Act mental – confused farmer
9 Let snakes out? Be serious (Two words)
14 Like this, with a pig
17 Remains and supports
18 Small part of a snow leopard
19 Copper maybe encountered a student
20 Speed follows city in spirit