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 four-way symmetry: both top and bottom and left and right match, so you can fill in 12 more squares straight away.

Across

1 Creepy thing getting prised apart

4 Work stoppage is a hit

9 New cadet at university behaved badly (Two words)

12 Fundamental London train line

14 Feel remorse, the French way

15 Remove a seer, forcibly

16 Dodge first woman, holding a note

17 Inebriated as a gherkin

18 Fabled writer adopted a pose

20 Fellow on thin side

22 Lasso steer showing sign of distress (Inits.)

23 Lad spun around in high areas

25 Some furniture for lofty child

27 Dog tooth

28 Intoxicated by British game

Down

2 Mine cheers getting bread

3 Bemused with the creature

5 Article in modest health

6 Mark worried about old dish

7 Apparent worth of a queen? (Two words)

8 Keen ally ordered small tools (Two words)

10 Being intense, criticise a pizza (Two words, hyphenated)

11 Reporters getting round key operation

12 Room next to first musician

13 End fuel transportation, as required

19 Dance? Sauce!

21 Opening move not initially in range

24 Study of wide nature

26 Heard beer brings trouble