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 – ‘Stout’ – which yields the word ‘Plump’. This must sit in the centre of the line to preserve the symmetry.

across

1 Peripheral district of a town; Textile

3 Make headway; Equip

5 Hung with drapes

6 Wild Australian outback; Meat-

substitute bean

7 Become subject to

8 Chaos; Magazine chief

9 Stout

10 Zone; Decorated (a cake)

11 Study assiduously; Shut forcibly

12 Traditional Highland dagger;

Window glass

13 Section

14 Person knowledgeable in a field;

Eat delicately

15 Vacant, without tenants

16 Voice inflection; Annoyance

17 Very small dog

19 General feeling of discomfort;

Grim, gruesome

21 Food cupboard; Promotional

announcement

down

A Continuous pelting

B Popular number puzzle;

Beefy soup

C Fashion, manner; Become

ready to pick

D Bough of a tree; Make an enquiry;

Chocolate-covered cream cake

F Happen again; Spontaneous, unrehearsed; Topical discussion point or offspring

H Ill-will; Full of envy

J Pinafore; Obnoxious; Perceived sound

L Fast-flowing part of a river; Naughty

child; Roof of the mouth

M Spirit measure; Leisurely walk

N Bob (to royalty); Clandestine

O Shortened version of a larger work