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 mom-and-pop business? 10 Communist book censors 11 Story run past a listener

before

12 Cooked nuts get shelled 13 Swell lawyer died in the big

apple

15 Give up around the end of

the month

16 Monster returning, therefore 18 Ace and king once put away 21 Small label, one speculates 25 Perhaps a sculptor

concealed corrosion 26 Funny article, on reflection 27 Neat yob helped out too

much

DOWN

2 Addled lady wanted more 3 Rising high note at the end

of a film score

4 Upset Louisiana inventor 5 Nymph closer to Clio, say

6 A benefit for every knight 7 Innocent man turned

against egghead

8 Swan or elephant, perhaps 9 Book from given source

about fruit

13 Jibe about Joe Biden’s heart 14 Still unknown shrine that

lasts

17 Wood turned in Kiev or

Gstaad

19 A tabloid journalist blew a

fuse!

20 Flooded area used to be

hot

22 Material to cut off and leave 23 Legendary queen

accomplished nothing 24 Odd politician’s original

seat