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 977, The Mail on Sunday, PO Box 3451, Norwich NR7 7NR. Entries must arrive by Friday, January 8 (photocopies not accepted). The winner’s name will be published on January 24 from the first correct entry drawn.

Winner of Bare Bones No 974: David Moore, of Sheffield.

Across

7 Blonde queen is more attractive 8 Minimal look over toy, missing nothing

11 Turn to cleaner for a delicacy

12 Choke and stagger, seeing American outtakes (Two words) 13 Fewer around an animal 15 Temperature that may be caught

16 Pam’s swimming in some current 18 Creepy-crawly in a book 21 Republican warned about being depicted differently

22 Dance is nothing out of the ordinary

23 Divert deliberately from French protest

24 Around a thousand study part of London

Down

1 Impudence – bishops start on steps to organ (Two words) 2 Surround Roman leader in glory

3 Doctor to copy curtain 4 America has time for employment

5 Fellow aged internally with beastly complaint 6 Emerald isn’t awfully aerodynamic

9 Food items Gerry ordered containing zero carbon

10 Note result upset some stars

14 Pale, point to article 17 Food as ordered by city with 500

18 Fish in the corner 19 Crashed, not having started lorry

20 Heavily bandaged relative?