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 1015, The Mail on Sunday, PO Box 3451, Norwich NR7 7NR. Entries must arrive by Friday, October 1 (photocopies not accepted). The winner’s name will be published on October 17 from the first correct entry drawn.

Winner of Bare Bones No 1012: Mrs A Lasota, of Greenford, London.

Across

5 Dog and cat – a

domestic animal

7 Conciseness in section about cleric – unknown

9 Changing lyric

at definition

11 The French after an opera of the same proportions (Two words)

12 Mother left task

to go wrong

15 Hag following notes

to entrance

17 Relish having

one liberator 19 Maths problem that is back in shows lack of belief

20 Tiling around the back

for some coal

Down

1 Hack struggled, having left writing material

2 Top wager –

second coming in

3 Examiner going

round, therefore

4 Stem from small

conversation

6 Save viper variety

that’s wide-spread 8 Winner joins man from another era

10 Juvenile second person finding article unfinished

11 Approaches duty,

by the sound of it

13 Husband developed

hate for moorland

14 Iron may be

out of practice

16 Note American pressure at point of transition

18 Enthusiastic, notice

six inside