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 A fine example of a feature of Christmas 5 Secular point follows academic article 9 Hair starts to frizz up rapidly 10 Drink that is really some food 11 Prevent from telling a joke 12 The man composed a song for his country 13 Nothing clear about a prophet 14 Turn artist and star back to a planet 17 Motorist’s club 21 Won over, for the present 22 Salad item can be a shipping hazard 23 In favour of some compromise 24 Footballer who refuses to work? 25 Doctor to recover in a good way DOWN 1 Four keys to a food establishment 2 An expert on new protective garment 3 Receptacle that’s the last to be included (Two words) 4 More almonds around a field 5 A tip about old courtyard 6 Agree prison is wrong for a diva (Two words) 7 Nag about the Spanish messenger 8 The advantage of a border 15 Argumentative fellow, this sportsman 16 The woman finds the queen transparent 17 Imagine head of department has a lot of paper 18 Drive out to lake after old exercise 19 The responsibility we bear? 20 Sounds entirely consecrated to God