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 – ‘Proficient, skilful’ – which yields the word ‘Adept’. This must sit in the centre of the line to preserve the symmetry.

across

1 Bring to a shine; Lizard of

tropical America

3 Ordinary; Dish of Shrove Tuesday

5 Dreary

6 Sliding frame in a window; Heroic tale

7 Scent, smell

8 Evaluation, analysis; Of a road, lacking

a hard surface

9 Proficient, skilful

10 Commonly tinned fish; Cut, revise

11 Bias; Hand’s width

12 Noise of a snake; Much-admired singer

13 Message sent online

14 Calculating device; Nasty experience

15 Robust or portly

16 UK nobleman; Daze

17 Innate, fundamental

19 Adult period of male human; Locked up

21 Having the nerve; Small dash

down

A Ticket rubbed to reveal a

possible prize

B Rice dish; From lower to higher

C Number of deadly sins;

Large orderly pile of hay

D Set off a boat into the water;

Horse-like animal; Any of two

F Garden digging tool; Knowing feeling;

Sharp part of a flower stem

H Mounted soldier; Unit counted

by dieters

J Solemn; Device that controls an aeroplane without a human operator; Tremulous

L Blame formally; Extremity; Whisky

M Check-patterned material;

Clumsy, incompetent

N Acid neutraliser; Not equal

O Downhearted