Waste Recycling

a cryptic puzzle by Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon

Every clue answer discards one letter before entry into the diagram. These 34 thrown-away letters are not wasted, however. Taken in order, with Acrosses preceding Downs, they combine to spell out a complete cryptic clue for the (otherwise unclued) word in the center of the diagram. Answers include three proper nouns; 2 Down and 7 Down are less-than-common words.

Across

  • 1.
    Plan to recycle liqueur (10)
  • 10.
    Sprang for a wine (5)
  • 11.
    Choose one flower that's ideal (7)
  • 12.
    Outside Italian river, farm products decay (8)
  • 13.
    Indian returned one's cases (5)
  • 14.
    Slug, grabbing bottle nearest here (10)
  • 16.
    Acid rock has its origin among top British (5)
  • 17.
    Southern field worker is less active (7)
  • 21.
    Dessert draws reverent comments (7)
  • 23.
    Father keeps piano in part of church (5)
  • 26.
    Backward poet experiments with soap, cologne, etc. (10)
  • 28.
    Girl's name: Dotty Ainge (5)
  • 29.
    Beasts of burden eating most of Art's candies (8)
  • 31.
    Harry has large and small herbs (7)
  • 32.
    Confine one macho guy (hyphenated) (5)
  • 33.
    Overworking, Hollywood's Dracula gets dull (10)

Down

  • 1.
    Mountain pass has tarn inside (6)
  • 2.
    Shy taxi passenger withholds word of pain (8)
  • 3.
    Closer to red, red dogwood (6)
  • 4.
    Regular at sides and back (4)
  • 5.
    Vital statistic: work number (6)
  • 6.
    A box with bland sweetener (9)
  • 7.
    Penny I pinched, and gold coin (7)
  • 8.
    Left-leaning short newsmagazine issues (5)
  • 9.
    Looked for Queen playing etudes (7)
  • 15.
    Conclude floor material is not productive (9)
  • 18.
    Lion (Elsa) mauled journalist (two words) (8)
  • 19.
    Order it acted out (7)
  • 20.
    Writer makes pen tilt (7)
  • 22.
    Spy group covers baddie with bug (6)
  • 24.
    Fish caught by each kitchen utensil (6)
  • 25.
    Moderating each session of vocal music (6)
  • 27.
    Private meal excluding chief (5)
  • 30.
    Reversing direction, crow makes appearance (4)