ACROSS
1 P(IT’S)AW – clever wordplay
6 DIE(SE(t))S – those little dagger things that printers use to indicate notes
10 S(CUT-ChE)ON – ChE being short for Chemical Engineer
12 TERATOMATOUS – TOMATO in (Seurat)* – a kind of tumour (“growth”)
14 TH(<=GAME)US – “The Magus” is a novel by John Fowles
15 A-L(i)EU-T
16 OMASA – hidden in “ThOMAS Arguing”, plural of OMASUM
17 COYSTREL – (rest)* in COY-L, an old name for a groom
21 LARKS-PUR – according to Chambers, a PUR was a jack in an old card game
23 YDRED – (dry)*-ED – a barred-puzzle favourite
26 APHRA – (harp)*-A
27 PRO(<=ON)TUM – the back of an insect’s prothorax
28 NEWSPAPERDOM – (pen amp(L)e sword)*
29 C(hoose)-LIEN-TELE
30 ARC-HIL – a lichen which wields a dye, although I don’t understand the HIL but
31 SCHLEP – SC-(help)* – clumsy individual
DOWN
2 ICE FLOE – (I feel co(LD))* – “sheet” would be a weak definition on its own, but the whole clue acts as a definition
3 TUR(KEY-BROW)N – the mayfly, or an artificial fly used in angling
4 STAT(U)S
5 W(HOH)E – wordplay is straightforward but I don’t get the “dictionary” reference
6 DE(ME)TER – the Greek goddess of fertility (cf Roman Ceres)
7 ENTAME – E-(meant)*
8 E-QU-U.S. – Peter Shaffer play, the one in which Harry Potter got naked recently
9 S(ASS-A-FR)AS
11 BOG ASPHODEL – (gh pool-based)* where GH is “growth environs”
13 TACHYPNEA – (patchy)*-NEA(t)
18 R(A-TT)AIL
19 A(URE-O)LE
20 MENSCH – (n schem(E))* – honest fellow in the States, from the Yiddish for “person”
22 S(PART)H – a battle-axe, as in the weapon, not Maggie Thatcher
24 (<=RD)EAR – RD = Rural Dean
25 NUPES – UP in (<=Sen.) – a West Nigerian people
Lichen found in bow, not totally harmful.
Sarah