BLANKOUT

A crossword you construct yourself, adding the answers and the blanks as you go. The clues are in sets of one, two, three or four, guiding you to one, two, three or four words in each line (across) or column (down) indicated at the beginning of each set of clues. Each complete word has a blank at its beginning and end (unless it’s at the edge of the grid). Blanks are arranged symmetrically. To help you, we’ve given you a start with the answer to the clue on Line 10 – ‘Horse, mount’ – which yields the word ‘Steed’. This must sit in the centre of the line to preserve the symmetry.

ACROSS

2 Father’s mother

4 Equine in appearance; Furry, longhaired

6 Introductory music; Densely

8 Harsh in self-discipline; Weird 10 Partially burn; Horse, mount; Pong 12 Cut of pork; Units of power written on light bulbs; _ _ _ stick, child’s bouncy toy

14 Carbon copy; Rearranged letters puzzle

16 Rising actress; Round bone in the front of the leg

18 Mean; Fastidious

20 Secret meeting

DOWN

B Not smooth; Done openly, unconcealed

C Disregard, neglect; Real, authentic D Rocky hill; Zero score in football, for instance

E Woman who kneads the body therapeutically; Lazy behaviour G Jittery; Happening, occurrence; Alter to fit; Hindu exercise philosophy H Ingest

I Feline animals; White sea froth; Express gratitude to; Tiny green vegetables

K Tinny; Pre-meal drink

L Mixture of gases within the atmosphere; Clothes-line fastener M Produced (a dramatic performance); Gambling club N Leap forward; Tropical fruit containing many hard seeds