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 Bones Puzzle No 870, The Mail on Sunday, PO Box 3451, Norwich NR7 7NR. Entries must arrive by Friday, December 21 (photocopies not accepted). The winner’s name will be published on January 6 from the first correct entry drawn. Winner of Bare Bones No 867: Mrs S. Shouler, of Llandovery, Carmarthenshire. Across 1 Mark dug me out after start of semester 5 Staff in salary travesty 10 Talk about sports equipment on Sunday 11 Catch function revealing system 12 Steal element, dropping Spanish article 13 Book initially on every seaside feature 14 Country gets rid of island bridge 15 Frenchman has recipe for bangers accompaniment 17 Sailor gets away roughly 18 Swimmer upstream has returned encouragement 22 Delight as family member loses head 23 At home weaving fibre, using very few words (Two words) 24 Fellow is yet becoming lively 25 Got the layout for poorer part of city Down 2 Has to prematurely end one key art form 3 Friend has a twisted plaster 4 Seasonal benefactor playing tunes nearby (Two words) 5 Rewarding cub in trouble inside as a sign of fear (Two words) 6 Ceremony sounds most appropriate 7 Wilt from pressure after doctor rings 8 One may be peculiar and less sensitive (Two words) 9 Medical procedure makes second family work hard (Two words) 16 Proportion has spoilt engineers 19 Indicate beer has nothing added 20 Lack a young woman 21 Former pupil only eventually starts instrument