Blankout

A crossword you construct yourself, adding the answers and the blanks as you go. The clues are in sets of one, two, three or four, guiding you to one, two, three or four words in each line (across) or column (down) indicated at the beginning of each set of clues. Each complete word has a blank at its beginning and end (unless it’s at the edge of the grid). Blanks are arranged symmetrically. To help you, we’ve given you a start with the answer to the clue on Line 9 – ‘Sporting failure’ – which yields the word ‘Loser’. This must sit in the centre of

the line to preserve the symmetry.

across

1 Group of performers; Farcical

3 Spooky, weird; Superiority

5 Compelled legally or morally

6 Stag or doe; Viewed

7 Cantaloupe or honeydew, eg

8 Landowner, historically; Get hold of

9 Sporting failure

10 Night birds; A single time

11 _ _ _ and ends, scraps; Retail unit

12 Animal’s hindquarters; Mexican

stuffed fried pancake

13 Freeholder

14 French cake; Paper for measuring acidity

15 Pore over books

16 Computer storage device;

Corset support

17 Mountain snow-slide

19 Fiasco; Deep-toned woodwind

instrument

21 Half of forty; Group of lines in a verse

down

A Put off

B Intertwined mess; Contaminate

(with a germ or virus)

C Of the same rank; School subject

D Skilled speaker; Propitiatory gift;

Japanese martial art

F Used for punishment; Sweetsounding; Dispense

H Ever-fresh; Merciless

J Ruptured (balloon); At a higher

latitude; Skilled trade

L Of a bed, messy; _ _ _ for, select;

Add condiments to

M Desire deeply; Come clean

N Amenable, pliant; Goat known

for its silky wool

O In a way involving risk