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6 is not a homophone but a charade, parses as 1, 5.

5 is quite clever. It's '"an eff in" (inserted into) a 2-word expression for "make a difference". Defn. "chow chow".

OK, done now. Thsnks, Geeker. I read your hint for 5a and immediately saw the solution. The strange thing is that I had already guessed EVERYTHING that you said in your hint (that it was "eff in" someting meaning "do good", whole thing meaning "chow chow"), but failed to see the answer. You told me nothing new, and yet somehow reading it from you made me see it immediately. I'd never heard of the aircraft brand in 15d, but I had thought of the correct parsing, including the reversing of letters, so if I had just Googled it I would have got it. As for 6d, it was absolutely obvious once I had 5a filled in. Therefore LOI 6d, and I am now willing to give 5a the COD accolade.

I've always liked Paul. He started setting for the Guardian when I was discovering Guardian cryptics (previously had only done Times puzzles). I found his compositions immediately likeable, and Paul is one of the setters I've had the most success with. Maybe due to the off-colo(u)r clues.

Sometimes Paul offers an unusually (excessively?) large number of intricately cross-referenced clues, which turns me off. This was definitely one of those instances.

But the challenge of figuring out the apparent circular definition / infinite loop eventually became fun! I rate this Prize very highly, apart from a couple of dubious homophones that keep it from the absolute top level.

Horrible horrible horrible. And (although I am a - spoiler alert - 'singer in fine voice') got no satisfaction when some cheating showed me some answers. No sense of 'oooh I could have got that'. Usually get Paul done with little or no help. Something creepy about obsessions with ... this theme. Not a good weekend so far. COD 29 - well known saying in my kitchen. FOI 13 misleadingly easy.

I enjoyed this though I found it very challenging, hence the late post (although I suspect on a holiday weekend this conversation will continue). I wonder if Paul had thoughts left over from his recent theme that led him into this one?
Like others, I went down the wrong trail with 3d and 17a for ages but eventually 27 straightened me out. I’m surprised nobody’s pointed out the links to 11a’s work in the clue for 11a and at the start of 14a, nor the appearance of the false 3d in the middle of 19a - not sure these are accidental, given Paul’s liking for links all over the place!
As for the homophones, they usually raise a smile and these ones are less vulnerable to regional differences in pronunciations than we often see. Concerning25d, I’m sure we all know the difference between a buffalo and a bison?

I forgot to add thanks to Paul and to the very many helpful posts on this thread which I found completely necessary to solve and parse a lot of this!
Enjoy your holiday and half terms!

That's a great spot Luko, with the ????? Mondays and "walking like ..." and the alternative 3d in 19a:-)

I visit the site every week to check how I’ve done on the guardian prize, and what other think of the level of challenge, but haven’t posted before.

I am normally on Paul’s wavelength but I just can’t get into this one. Have a smattering of clues filled in.

Some gentle hints towards the theme would be very much appreciated, if that’s not giving too much away.

For 10, 27 I have ?i?? , ??n? for 17 I have just ???c? And for 3 c???a.

I think the letters I do have are correct - albeit I don’t have many!

Welcome WarriorOne
There have been some good hints given previously for 11a. If you solve that one, it will give a strong pointer towards the theme.
btw all your letters are correct.