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

1 A swimmer kept digging,

note

4 Nothing in total

(Hyphenated)

8 Still time before midmorning

9 Head and tail of noisy

parrot

11 Director revolutionary but

dull

12 Minor rebuke wasn’t hotel

pair’s fault

13 Lung extraction? It’s

relaxing

17 Awful anger after Durham’s

opener

18 Actors not initially in shot

lose it

20 King received by new

emperor

21 Seal, secure, broken by

request

22 A bloomer a monster

concealed

DOWN

1 Awful old Chester saying 2 Fog back over excellent city 3 Short nickel and copper

dart

5 American city a variable

place

6 More mature lady in a river 7 Another darn ferret’s

moved!

10 Fate leader on trial faces 14 Thoughts of Sadie

disconcerted

15 Do not post second letter! 16 Part of Tallahassee

evacuated last

18 Tip from proud Anglo-saxon

writer

19 Wow, legendary bird’s

ascending!