Cryptic crossword No 887

Thanks Mark! Very nice as ever

Very enjoyable PM, thanks. Aside from briefly inventing a Welsh word at 31a, this went in fairly smoothly. A lovely fill as well. For various reasons, my favourites were 1a, 10a, 32a, 3d, 5d, and 23d. Merry Christmas!

Super stuff, thanks PM. Overall fave 10a amongst lots to enjoy - honourable mentions for 1a, 13a, 32a, 5d, the sirdakka-esque 14d & 26d. Spoilers ...

Thanks for the puzzle PM, that was very nice indeed! 1a was a fun clue to start and a lovely def and I particularly liked the surfaces of 9a, 15a, 22a, 24a, 31a, 32a, 1d, 3d, 7d (lol), 23d (likewise) and 25d - for wordplay, my faves were 4a (clean), 16a (nice assembly), 22a (neat), 1d (clean), 11d (smooth), 14d (lovely), 18d (fun) and 28d (smooth use of the device) - top stuff!

Thanks, PM; Merry Christmas! Lovely work on the theme, once again. Spotting it almost immediately did not spoil things at all, but did cause a moment of confusion trying to force an avian answer to 24A. I echo the praise for 10A; I also liked the inventive surface/description for 29A and the use of county rather than city in 18D. One suggestion: would 19D be better as '(g)(answer)(t)' being 'shelled in WW2 offensive'?

Tremendous theming, PM – seriously impressive! And lots of super clues with not even a Coot quibble. Thought 13A, 5D, 14D and 23D the pick of the bunch, but I always was a sucker for golf and smut!

Fabulous work – it took me a while to spot *it* but once I did, it helped me with the rest, and it's not often that happens! 1a is fantastic and I reckon the penny drop on that one could be heard from across the channel. Also liked 10a, 24a, 32a, 14d and 18d (my way in!). A very merry Christmas to you and thanks for your support this year 😁

Theme blindness strikes again… never mind, this was enjoyable anyway, for all the reasons others have already mentioned. Merry Christmas!

Hello Mark, Matt from Cryptic Sunday coming at this one a bit late! I really enjoyed this as ever, and it was solvable pretty well with only a couple of peeks at reference books. Took me a little longer than I'd've liked to spot the theme (after about six themed ones were in) but maybe as I'm a little past the festive stage now. Anyway reply fun thank you - I especially liked 10a, 29a, and 18d.

Happy New Year when it comes PM. Finally finished this! Amazing work on the theme. Favourites were 10a 24a and 18d. Good fun