SOLUTION TO PRIZE CROSSWORD No 15,988:

ACROSS: 1 Life sentence. 8 Organza. 9 Turn off. 11 Nut-megging. 12 Beta. 14 Minutiae. 16 Hijack. 17 Ivy. 19 Upturn. 21 Eighteen. 24 Iron. 25 Guillotine. 27 Maestro. 28 Inwards. 29 Auld lang syne. DOWN: 1 Lighten. 2 Fan letters. 3 Shanghai. 4 Noting. 5 Euro. 6 Cholera. 7 Somnambulism. 10 Frankincense. 13 Right of way. 15 Eve. 18 Yielding. 20 Thoreau. 22 Emigree. 23 Aurora. 26 Stud.