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I have a feeling that this week's puzzle by Paul is going to cause quite a lively debate - I hope so, anyway.

FOI was 9a followed by 4d.

I often find Paul's puzzles quite difficult so I was relieved not to have too many problems with this one.

Of course, a lot depends on how quickly you get 28,2,19,16 which must be one of the longest clues ever = a whopping 24 letters 😲

I also wonder how non-UK residents will get on with 16d - we shall see.

If you do get stuck there is at least one hidden in both the downs and the acrosses and at least one long anagram in the acrosses.

There are still a couple I can't fully parse, namely 1d and 25a but I'm sure of my answers so I await a PDM (Penny Drop Moment).

Of course, no Paul crossword would be complete without the obligatory "Pauline" clues, and here we have a few classics with 10a, 17d and, last but not least, 5d - which, I imagine, had the crossword editor umming and ahing as to whether to allow it or not - I'm glad he/she did:-)

Thanks to Paul for a very fun and witty crossword.

Please feel free to leave a comment and, as always, if you get stuck - don't hesitate to ask for a hint.

Stay safe:-)

I can't convince myself about my answer for 1d. I shall mull awhile.

Apologies everyone, I inexplicably put the wrong number in the title. I've emailed Norah so hopefully it will be corrected in due course.

Morning, Brendan
1dn is very cheeky. You need to think of a homophone (sort of) of the third word and then put it together with the second.
25a: the first five words of the clue give a two-letter word which is then ‘dressed’ by a word defined by the eighth word.
Hope that’s neither too obscure nor too much of a giveaway.

Thanks Rogissimo,

For 1d I had wondered if the fact that Natalie Wood's parents were Russian played a part, but I think that's too far-fetched - your solution sounds much more plausible:-)

Hi Brendan,
Good description of the puzzle. I also found it on the less difficult side, had 9 as FOI and thought the Pauline 5 really pushed the envelope!
Though American, my write-in guess at 16 was correct - big fan of Bill James's "Harpur and Iles" novels and saw the term there.
17 is also slightly Pauline, I saw it in another puzzle recently and it stumped me, but managed to recall the answer today.
I'll call 5 COD, for audacity if nothing else, edging out 1a and 15.
I think 1d hinges on a homophone, and 25 is an inclusion of a French pronoun.

Forgot, 3 was LOI.

Hi Geeker,

"pushed the envelope" sums it up perfectly 👍

I quite liked 24d - "Island where a dollar cut up" but the surface is spoiled by not having an apostrophe after the "dollar" - IMHO

.... apostrophe S, I meant to say:-)

Also forgot to mention: there's a rather long hidden, and I found the ultra-long clue Brendan mentioned difficult because three of the four parts intersect (a bit inconsiderate of Paul IMO ;-) ).