THE SKELETON CROSSWORD – £325 in prizes

There is a £100 prize for the first correct solution drawn; nine runners-up receive £25.

Send your completed crossword to the address shown in the box below left. In the skeleton crossword, the black squares and clue numbers have to be filled in as well as the words. Four black squares and four clue numbers have been inserted to give you a start. The black squares form a symmetrical pattern; the top half matches the bottom, and the two sides correspond. You can fill in 12 more squares at once to correspond with those given.

ACROSS

1 Round slates break 4 Ointment left in bar

7 Hat beginning to eclipse

cloak

9 Discount rig one ordered 10 House found around

mid-january

11 Tack on swapped mare will

ultimately confuse

14 A tragedy some clots

welcome

15 Wild rhino’s cut to briefly

(2 words)

16 Love letters from an

illiterate?

17 Dirty kinsman may snarf

seconds

20 Acting leaders formally

request plaudits

23 Protest about stuff hauliers

face

25 Direct fellow on time 26 High-flyer who came

unglued?

27 Sharp edges of knife with

bent middle 28 Live feed ending in a good

way

29 Reported use for sheep

DOWN

2 Singer close by can wind... 3 ...heartless rep up, a given 4 Small greenish-blue pocket 5 A German song told a story 6 North-facing headland

beyond English city

7 City career one fancied 8 People painting, perhaps 12 Italian lady describing DNA 13 Plant pruned in front of

ladies covered with resin 18 Tip about runs to memorise 19 PM’S beginning, perhaps, to

improve

21 Cold coach unloaded poorly 22 Let a student move carefully 24 Anger about gripping film’s

content