Mephisto 2970 – Paul McKenna

Across
1 Very good pop (4)
SODA; SO-DA; very good=SO; pop=dad=DA;
4   Present grass in need of immediate attention (8)
PRESSING; PRES-SING;
10 Mostly dip into pabulum being of a mind to get it? (10)
EDUCATABLE; E(DUC)TABLE; DUC from DUC(k);
11 Water holder is the transformation of Riyadh (6)
HYDRIA; (Riyadh)*;
13 Greek department which wraps up term in willingly looking back (5)
NOMOS; SO(M)ON reversed;
14 Curlew with dislocated limb almost ruddy inside (7)
WIMBREL; W-(limb)* surrounds RE(d);
15 Gold spirit from the right growth promoter (5)
AUXIN; AU-(NIX reversed);
16 Poor pun is not often free from gloss or the suchlike (7)
UNPAINT; (pun)*-AINT;
18 Object for pot (7)
PROTEST; PRO-TEST;
23 Fickle like a Spanish invader with heart of Nationalist (7)
MOONISH; like a Spanish invader=Moorish then change “r” to “n”;
24 In which Gromit goes about knitting cardies (7)
SIDECAR; (cardies)*; reference Wallace and Gromit;
27 Civilian legal expert (5)
MUFTI; two meanings;
28 Glide along like Stenmark finally in ____ (7, two words)
SKI,MASK; SKIM-AS-(Stenmar)K; reference Jan Ingemar Stenmark – ski racer;
29 Warning from Scots is not bound by it (5)
FREET; FREE-‘T;
30 A girl with a wild sheep (6)
ARGALI; (a girl a)*;
31 Suffer insults each time our facetiously poetic cool flipped (10, three words)
EAT,THE,LEEK; EA-T-THE-(KEEL reversed); our facetiously=THE; poetic cool=KEEL; Waggledagger for suffer insults;
32 Faded crimson uniform thrown over one chancing along (8)
PASSER-BY; PASSE-R(u)BY;
33 What poet calls one greater grips you, as recounted in canto (4)
DUAN; D(U)AN; you as recounted=U;

Down
1 Schilling down, picked up special drink (8)
SCHNAPPS; SCH-NAP-(SP reversed); Schilling=SCH;
2 Round New York bad son left swarm of Scots mocking dismissal (10, three words)
ON,YOUR,BIKE; O-NY-(s)OUR-BIKE; swarm in Sterling=BIKE; Tebbit talk;
3   Macron’s to the right skilful benefit claimant (7, two words)
A,DROITE; ADROIT-E; E=marketing designation for those on benefits;
7   Samuel Butler’s first American dance (5)
SAMBA; SAM-B(utler)-A; my samba days are sadly behind me;
8   Queen in waders finds flower (6)
IBERIS; IB(ER)IS;
9   No more go off in public without three central characters (4)
GEAL; GE(ner)AL;
12 Pastor’s niche residence with English geezer outside (10)
FENESTELLA; FE(NEST-E)LLA;
17 Islander cheers witticism, say, over archetype Scotsman (8)
TAHITIAN; TA-HIT-IAN;
19 Second chef’s tool is something extraordinary (7)
SMASHER; S-MASHER;
20 Herbalist’s plant is relaxing on being ingested (7)
COMFREY; COMF(RE)Y;
21 United Nations dismissed but power is not pushed (7)
UNURGED; UN-(p)URGED; deletion indicator for “p” appears to be missing – “not” can’t serve two purposes
22 Court caught by rising subsidiary orders (6)
EDICTS; SIDE reversed surrounds CT=court;
25 SNP’s peer picked up issues (5)
EMITS; peer in Perth=STIME;
26 Charlie, a poster icon or dull pain in reserve (5)
CACHE; C-A-CHE or C-ACHE;
28 Has Paddy from the south rung? (4)
STEP; PETS reversed;