Cryptic crossword No 587

I'm sorry, I didn't realise it was Filth Thursday, nobody sent me the memo

Hi Polymath and nice to have the opportunity to return the compliment. And, likewise, a nice puzzle with which to do it. A few raised eyebrows as I went through but your Annotations generally cleared things up. And I did lack the odd bit of necessary GK. Favourites include: 17a, 18a, 20a, 24a (very nice indeed), 25a (likewise), 1d (ho ho ho!), 5d (nice surface), 16d (fun), 20d and 23d (simple but very satisfying). Couple of small queries in Reply with spoilers. Thanks. PM

Thanks for the puzzle Polymath, that was fun and satisfyingly creative. Some lovely referential surfaces and cunning wordplay, I particularly liked 12a (very nice), 16a (neat), 20a, 22a, 25a, 1d, 3d, 17d and 23d.