DAILY MAIL CROSSWORD

No. 15,988

ACROSS

1 Small section of biography or longest stretch? (4,8) 8 Gold Middle East strip contains new fabric (7) 9 Stop operating vessel owned by snooty type (4,3) 11 Fan mail primarily urging smart move by footballer (3-7) 12 Second-class book by Greek character (4) 14 Details of main road withdrawn in time (8) 16 Seize journalist besieging independent judge (6) 17 One very disheartened climber (3) 19 Union put out service improvement (6) 21 Golfer’s round number (8) 24 Press cynicism curtailed (4) 25 Piece of office equipment gets the chop (10) 27 Most are jostling top musician (7) 28 Where patients are directed to centre (7) 29 Song Della and Angus played around turn of New Year (4,4,4)

DOWN

1 Reduce weight, damaging thin leg (7) 2 Cool estate agents maybe get post from supporters (3,7) 3 Chanted greeting heard around harbour and port (8) 4 Writing nothing, missing husband (6) 5 Neurologist hoards money (4) 6 Disease caught Lahore badly prepared (7) 7 Wandering at night, numb Somalis possibly cover miles (12) 10 Open with anger first Christmas gift (12) 13 Proper method to retain old fellow ramblers’ privilege (5,2,3) 15 First lady goes north and south (3) 18 Giving up DIY, Nigel vacillated (8) 20 American poet and author excited about ecology at first (7) 22 European fighter dealing with Eastern exiled woman (7) 23 Dawn’s gold and yellow caught by painter (6) 26 Briefly examine button (4)

PRIZES of £20 will be awarded to the senders of the first three correct solutions checked. Solutions to: Daily Mail Prize Crossword No. 15,988, PO Box 3,451, Norwich NR7 7NR. Entries may be submitted by second-class post. Envelopes must be postmarked no later than tomorrow. Please make sure you enclose your name and address.