But having this one “mostly” done, I gave up and came here. I note you “apologize” to furriners for “CORGI” the acronym, thank you, had it pencilled in with big question marks. But no similar note for WHIPSNADE ZOO??? I thought it might be a zoo, but there was no real way to research what sort of zoo it might be. Oh well.

The puzzle went from 1/4 finished to 3/4 finished when I got MOCK (trivial, eh?) which finally led me to Sync’d swimmers (sorry disabled capslock on this machine…) which finally opened up the “big answer”, helping me with the NE corner.

My one pride is getting CURARE “on my own”. Cheers all!

The phrase DIFFERENT STROKES FOR DIFFERENT FOLKS certainly predates the eponymous sitcom: I know it from the lyrics to the Sly & the Family Stone song Everyday People from, I think, 1969.

I particularly enjoyed the “synchronised swimming”/”different strokes” connection. I got the strokes answer early on and am very familiar with the phrase. I was surprised to see that not everyone is. It certainly predates that dreadful TV show but I probably know it from my time in the US in the 70s. (Yes, K’sD I am certainly old enough to not only remember, but to still revere, the Fab Four.)

Many thanks Eileen for your excellent blog and your followup on the ensuing discussions. I suppose Paul/Eileen is my favourite setter/blogger partnership!

Why?
I don’t know, maybe some clues were just a tad too easy (or had constructions that were a tiny bit too simple) like OPUS, MOCK, MINCE PIE, OFF COURSE or PLANET (guessed it rightaway from the first two words in the clue).
ANTOINETTE was poor, I thought (using one (related) girl to get another). Didn’t like SHEEPISH either.

I have seen ‘ham’ as an anagrind before, but that doesn’t mean I like it. It is probably ‘ham’ in the sense of ‘clumsy’?
And capitalised, too – I know, don’t explain, I surrender ….
Last one to go in was CORGI, and indeed, Eileen, the acronym was unknown to me, but it hád to that dog.

So, a relatively negative verdict?
Well, re-reading the clues, I must say that there’s not much wrong with this crossword as such.
I had never heard of WHIPSNADE ZOO (had to Google), but it is nicely clued. And although I am getting tired of bottomed clues, 28ac (SWEETEN) was a highlight. Also liked TANGO and had to smile at SYNCHRONISED SWIMMING (one of my first entries) as it is [only in my opinion!] a ridiculous sport.

Good puzzle, but (for me) a bit uneven.
Some compared it to yesterday’s Puck (where I compared that one yesterday to a Paul), but I’m not sure whether Paul’s the winner.
Last Saturday’s prize crossword, thát was “my” Paul.
But more about that later.

Different strokes for different folks?

I’m sorry to have seemingly ignored your comment. You’re absolutely right: ‘individual’ = ‘one’.

[I thought this was a very weak clue - and not like Paul. 'Clutch to' doesn't exist as a phrase, does it? It's surely either 'clutch' or 'cling to'?]

Congratulations, Davy!

A very enjoyable puzzle from Paul and (would you believe) I’ve just finished it. Despite having all the time in the world, I never seem to have time to do anything and usually finish off the puzzle after 9pm although I often fail to complete it. If I fail, I say to myself that I really didn’t have enough time. It’s just a defence mechanism.

Some classic Paul today with WHIPSNADE ZOO, PRICKLY ASH (apologies to Ian W) and NEWFANGLED being marvellous.
I also thought TANGO and CEASEFIRE were great. Paul is certainly out on his own when it comes to clue constructions. He is definitely the eire apparent to the great man himself (now who could that be ?).