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Having the same problem with the same crossers. My wife's EngLit degree is apparently no help.

50a is a theme word. The defn is attributed to Spenser in Chambers. The bit in the middle is half a word for ‘generous gifts’

Thanks Jono. That and 1A were real testers.

I didn't know of the Chambers definition, but some references seemed to suggest that this usage came from Middle English, and I guess Spenser still used the archaic spelling. I found one site that had a long erudite discussion about the etymology of the two-letter ending in words we still use today, turning adjectives into active verbs - I guess giving examples would count as a spoiler.

Truly a case of "to be or not to be" as another poet might have said

Hi everyone

I haven't read the thread yet. I was really annoyed at getting the Christmas special so far in advance from Christmas. Come on Guardian, couldn't you leave it until Christmas Eve. I've been very busy today putting up the decorations and doing lots of chores. I have solved a few and got some I'm not sure of - perhaps they are special ones.

Fortunately, Maskarade doesn't set crosswords that are too difficult, but I prefer the alphabetical ones. I will be back, but perhaps not today.

I've read the thread and got a few more, but I suspect I'm stuck on these theme words where we don't have full information.

There isn't much on television tonight that I want to watch so I can carry on for a bit. Could I have some hints for some. I have no crossers yet for 54ac or 17d. Is 1d an anagram? Is 20ac a theme word? I have the second word for 25d, but not the first.

I've had to do a lot of googling, but the scottish highlands village (36d) has defeated me.

Meanwhile my husband has been watching the herding of reindeer in Norway. It's made me very cold.

Hi Roof,
Yes 1d is an anagram but also a theme word so the anagram is the 7 letters in the middle.
20a is not a theme word so a straight clue, ‘about’ being the first two letters.
36d is also a theme word, and a subtractive anagram (as mentioned earlier in the thread) but even then requires some extensive googling…

54a is another theme word where there is an anagram in the middle but this time with a reversed two letter word as well

Thanks to Maskarade. His bank holiday puzzles really aren't my cup of tea, but I got close. Gave up with 1a, 50 and 52 unsolved. Probably could unearth solutions on the interwebs, but there'd be little pleasure in it. As an American who doesn't use Chambers, this type of puzzle (heavy reliance on Chambers and UK GK) is more of a chore than a romp. Today's did go pretty quickly (as far as it went), as the theme was easy to spot (though difficult to describe).