This puzzle appeared in the Guardian's holiday puzzle feature and later on the web, but wasn't blogged at Fifteensquared.
Link to puzzle: https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/special/3
Degree of difficulty (by Guardian standards): average
Agility level (how much creative thinking is required): average
Legend: “*” anagram; “~” sounds like; “<“ letters reversed; “( )” letters inserted; “_” or lower case: letters deleted; “†” explicit in the clue, “^” first or last letter or letters, “{“ relocated letter or letters; “§” heteronym, “¶” letter bank.
Across
1a JOY TO THE ~WORLD
Cryptic definition with ~“whirled” (on a “fairground ride,” homophone indicated by “to listeners”)
10a ACCUS(TO M)ED
ACCUSED (“charged”) containing TO(†) + ^M^erriment (first letter indicated bu “drop of”)
11a VIRGO
Cryptic definition with “potter” referring to snooker player John Virgo
I thought this was a Hermione Granger reference, but the commenters on the Guardian site corrected me.
12a *NORWEGIAN
*WA_rm_ONGER IN (deletion of RM (“Royal Marines” indicated by “dropping”)
13a MA(DO)NNA
MANNA (“miraculous food”) containing (“inspiring”) DO (“party”)
14a TAB
s_TAB_le (deletion indicated by “some characters turned away”)
18a N(ACH)O
NO (“certainly not”) containing (“accepting”) ACH (“german complaint”)
19a *EAR FLAPS
*PALE S_c_ARF (deletion indicated by “it’s not cold,” anagram indicated by “knitted”)
21a GIUSEPPE
G (“good”) + *SUPE_r_ PIE (omission indicated by “nigh on,” anagram indicated by “baked”)
23a _G RANT
missin^G^ (last letter indicated by “finally” + RANT (“issue tirade”)
Easy to get but hard to parse.
24a ICE SHOW
ICE (“reserve”) + SHOW (“to appear”)
Bangle (my daughter): The axel is the only jump that takes off forwards.
26a _AIL_
wass_AIL_ing (omission indicated by “some”)
27a *ADEPTLY
*PLAYED + ^T^annenbaum (first letter indicated by “intro to,” anagram indicated by “remarkably”)
28a *EAST SIDER
*AIDES REST (anagram indicated by “shattered”)
31a E L T O N
^E^very ^L^ast ^T^une ^O^verplayed ^N^ow (first letters indicated by “intros from”)
32a PEPPER MINT
PEPPER (“pelt”) + MINT (“in pristine condition”)
33a AWAY IN A MANGER
A A (“Americans”) containing (“welcoming”) WAY IN (“opportunity”) + MANGER (“dine,” translation from French indicated by “à la français”)
Down
2d O SCAR
O (“old”) + MARK (“scar”)
3d T A U TEST
^T^ake ^A^ctual ^U^mbrage (first letters indicated by “starts”) + TEST (“quiz”)
4d TUTTI
TUTTI _frutti_ (“confection,” omission indicated by “nearly half of”)
5d *EMMANUEL
*MULE AMEN (anagram indicated by “tired”)
6d ODD
Cryptic definition
7d LOVED ONES
LOVE (“nothing”) + DONE (“achieved”) + S (“Son”)
8d FRANK CAPRA
FRANK (“mark,” like a postmark) + CAP (“international”–soccer reference) + RA (“artist”)
Director of “It’s a Wonderful Life”
9d POTATO PEELER
Cryptic definition (King Edward is a British potato variety)
12d NUTMEG GRATER
NUTMEG (“kick ball between legs”) + GRATER (“irritant”)
13d MESSI AH
MESSI (“footballer”) + AH (“gosh”)
15d ~BERNADETTE
~burn a debt (“destroy gas bill,” homophone indicated by “did you say?”)
17d TIPSI_LY
TIP (“lean over”) + SI_l_LY (“daft,” omission indicated by “vacuous”)
20d *LET IT SNO W
*LISTEN TO (anagram indicated by “actively” + ^W^assailers (first letter indicated by “beginning of”)
22d PETER PAN
PETER (“safe”) + PAN (“criticise”)
25d WISE MEN
WISE (“sage”) + Mi(anis_E)Nt (last letter of “anise” indicated by “finally,” alternate letters of “mint” indicated by “evenly chopped,” insertion indicated by “stuffing”)
29d _STE<AM<
cha_STE (omission indicated by “not half”) + <MA< (“mother,” reversal indicated by “boosted”)
30d D(ANC)E
D_rambui_E (first and last letters indicated by “empty”) containing (“bottles”) ANC (“party”: African National Congress)
32d _PRY
_s_PRY (“capable of a-leaping,” omission of first letter indicated by “topless”)
How many of you were trying to make lORD work?
