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Thanks jono and simond9x2nd. I see it now.

Rocky7 I think that you have misread part of the wordplay as the definition itself, if that makes sense? Hard to explain further without entering spoiler territory I'm afraid!

OK thanks both. Yes I did have wrong answer as I did have two
As. Makes more sense now but still not 100% there.

OK all done. Definitely a bit easier once you get into it. The tough parses were usually solvable from the crossers (1a excepted in my case). Never heard of the farceur but again solvable from the crossers and working backwards. My LOI in fact. Some of what you think are definitions turn out not to be and I think this is deliberate so thanks to Brummie for a fine test.

COD I think would be 27a because it had me going down the wrong path with the second word for a while.

Oh that was the most straightforward for me in a while! Finished at the first sitting which is rare. I thought it might be a bit too much of a write-in but then slowed down and had to think a bit more. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the rest of my weekend now..

Havermonkey I know what you mean. It's a double-edged sword. You work your brain like mad to finish and then spend the rest of Saturday wishing you still had some left to solve.

Exactly! And while I have all the midweek ones on the app that I never get time for, it's not the same as my weekend treat of the paper copy and pen in hand over my cuppa. Mind you I might go and try yesterday's Paul having read the comments.

If you’re looking for another puzzle, Paul (as Mudd), sets the FT today.

https://app.ft.com/crossword/e24b3177-c530-5e13-8d85-60e4f7ec46da

This took me a while to get going and then fell into place relatively quickly. My COD was 1a - reminding me of watching them on various Hebridean islands (though we’ve not made it to a small house on Mull yet).

Thanks jono. Wow, what a contrast between yesterday’s Paul and today’s Mudd! I wouldn’t have thought they were one and the same. And in fact Mudd did seem quite unPauline (no real naughtiness, for example). Do you know whether he gets very different briefs from the Guardian and the FT?