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 Minimal look over toy, missing nothing

4 Sad about including party member in impromptu remarks (Two words, hyphenated)

9 Old rope, for an artist

12 Firm must adapt European outfit

14 Time of underachievement

15 Artist and professor in their element

16 Turn pets out, distressed

17 Slow mover is more decorative after grooming head

18 Variation of Elgar is majestic

20 Strange, losing

American trinket

22 Scared to include a personal vehicle

23 Money gets half of this dimension

25 Support conclusion on rose arrangement

27 Stick notice in this place

28 Sounding bored, without first finding shade

Down

2 Youngster, caught, concealed lilac top inside

3 Starts to talk of exponential digit

5 Couple of the French often start

6 Depressed by singular style of music

7 Surplus bones in exotic dish (Two words)

8 Does often change when decorated

10 Went fishing – time started to be involved

11 Concerning equal opportunity for revenge

12 Worry, having left one key – that’s a bore

13 Obtained in spring day

19 Concurred, taking front off vice

21 Engineers managed to get shown again

24 Sailor’s aim – lose second half

26 Won over for the present