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. There is a prize of a Collins English Dictionary and Thesaurus set, and a Bradford’s Crossword Solver’s Dictionary. Send your solution to: Bare B ones Puzzle No 956, The Mail on Sunday, PO Box 3451, Norwich NR7 7NR. Entries must arrive by Friday, August 14 (photocopies not accepted). The winner’s name will be published on August 30 from the first correct entry drawn. Winner of Bare Bones No 953: Mrs Gillian Chalmers, of Huddersfield.

Across

5 Bottom of river before crossing town 7 Praise for a key profession 10 Dirt in front of garden? Rubbish 11 A charge to see a group of coral islands 12 Exclusive leader is lacking pen 13 A weeny verse about a celebration (Three words) 16 Inventor making a point about a ball 17 Get up and interrupts vicar, I see 18 Boy has nothing to pack 19 Terribly reckless last couple left after husband was a vocal spectator 20 By now, day real messed up

Down

1 Poet takes in European face furniture 2 No longer liking reading matter to be paid unofficially (Three words) 3 Fizzy mixture and dark material (Two words) 4 Unimportant underground worker, by the sound of it 6 Eyed drama warily – it’s off the shelf (Two words, hyphenated) 8 Some chilly weather is indifferent to incantation (Two words) 9 Moan about CID backing wandering 14 Arrive reluctantly around stream 15 Hotelier initially finds chap useful