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.

Send to: Skeleton Crossword, PO Box 12578, Sutton Coldfield B73 9BT. The winners will be the first correct entries drawn after the closing date of noon on Friday. Please allow 30 days for prizes to arrive.

ACROSS

2 Fine edict somehow lacking 8 Common firearm left out 9 Freight first off Jason’s ship 10 Love letters that open

admirers address

11 A band very nearly finished 13 Equipment in storage a

risk?

15 Dashing pilots and

swimmers

17 The case behind a square gold trunk

Eccentric known about Serious point about runner’s odds

Short story about a mineral Female bird, possibly a hen Smooth ale extraordinarily vile

A double negative is a bad thing (Hyphenated) A patriarch is back in French water

Unpleasant things from dingy unoccupied houses 18 19

22 24 26

27

28

29

DOWN

1 Erbium tops lead thus 2 Close duke hearing organ 3 Girl Friday on an island 4 Small birds tease creeps 5 Aliens given eleven ways out 6 Back-to-front insect bite

7 Fly high listener’s spotted 12 Boxer holding nothing back

after playing an instrument 14 Missile and rocket

launchers conflict

15 Eggs remain on eight

starters

16 In short, two characters

missed

20 Another time traveller’s third

win

21 Game bishops part with a

soldier

22 Air not filling emptied tyre 23 Dull sort feeding line to fish 24 Charges loud witness

brought up

25 Double back, getting praise