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Drxx, I’m happy with the representations referring to the four-word phrase. Since there are several representations, I think the singularisation of the main theme word in each is (more or less!) resolves. I don’t think there’s any more to what is already a puzzle abounding in thematic material. Still, un bel di vedremo...

Done, enjoyed it. Glad the thematic elements were there as might have struggled with the cryptic clues alone.

Drxx, don’t think there is a final twist. Think it’s fair to have a distinction between the thematic phrase which seems obvious when looking at all the representations in the grid and the clue extractions because of the and “ the thematic word” for the very last part.

Great construction.

So am I, loge - my confusion started when gitto seemed to be missing the obvious 4 word phrase altogether, and it's so hard to miss! But if there is a better idea it will probably surface at some point (at least we've finally got the definitive ''9,8'' for one of the alternatives that are likely to spring up now).

Goodness, I was being thick! Thanks to the nudges on this forum about the phrase, the penny has finally dropped and I have completed my 'flappy' in glorious pink highlighter. Thanks all.

Hi, I seem to have inadvertently confused/misled/perplexed some of you. I thought the phrase was simply something enjoyed by a frog (i.e. , before I upset anyone else, an amphibian variety) in a tale about an angler.

It does state that the oval is around a syllable of the thematic word, a syllable the does not appear in the 4 word version. Thankfully, does it make any difference to the final solution - no, I do not think so.

I think the thematic phrase and thematic word could be viewed as separate things? I agree that the preamble may not make this clear.

Yes, candledave/planks - 'thematic word' rather than 'phrase', does help. Unfortunately, wherever there's a doubt it will get amplified (thematic plurals would better represent the 4 word phrase but that certainly didn't worry me when I'd finished the puzzle). I think any further twists would be perverse... but it's by Shark!

Thanks, gitto - all clear now.

Well, I got there in the end, and have a reasonable representation with my curved lines and such. Shark has produced a quite magnificent layout incorporating so many elements. My only query is that I seem to have one extraneous letter in my set of matching connected letters, an extra vowel in the lower half, unless that is accounted for with the "all but one" bit of the instruction.
I managed to solve this in strict order; all the clues, then all the four phrase representations, then the bottom line (which up till then I was convinced contained a horse), then the surprisingly complete artwork.
Has anyone else noted that the four representations are themselves in strict order?

Zabadak. You should have 9 pairs of matching letters. The artwork connects the lower 8 pairs. Leave the last pair until carrying out the final instruction in the preamble.

Yes, we also noted the order of the 4 items. Thought that was a neet (sic) touch!