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 936, The Mail on Sunday, PO Box 3451, Norwich NR7 7NR. Entries must arrive by Friday, March 27 (photocopies not accepted). The winner’s name will be published on April 12 from the first correct entry drawn.

Winner of Bare Bones No 933: Brenda Cumming, of High Wycombe.

Across

1 Behold terribly rude Pole in place of pilgrimage 5 Support music accompanying a singer 9 Procure from strange tradesman 10 Drink makes socialist complain audibly (Two words) 11 College briefly in communication 12 Don’t move a horizontal bit of decoration, by the sound of it 13 Festival involving a steer 14 Mark sees British church hiding a great deal 17 Endless claim about firm form of cotton 21 That woman’s in the right 22 Leaving payment levied at leisure (Two words, hyphenated) 23 By way of answer, six went first 24 Rely on running behind – Frenchman is mean 25 Allow sharp beginning for small dish

Down

1 Two leaders leave flood in toboggan 2 Drain gallon off, say 3 Shark toured around, having the worst time (Two words) 4 Creep lies about having daughter 5 Important to have energy, and again, colour 6 Musical musician, active on the board (Two words) 7 Employed, that is, to take star back (Two words) 8 Understanding graveyard’s first epitaph 15 Large old ships, for fun 16 Fixing the fellow inside with unknown strapping 17 Bucolic rustic conceals livelihood 18 Polite about ordinary citizens 19 Second actor is a fake 20 Throw camera’s extremities on the way