• 1ac: SPADILLO: Solid player's half miscued ace, unbeatable?: *(SOLID PLA(yer))
• 7ac: PIPA: Hump on a toad? It's pear-shaped: Double Definition; ref. Pipa Pipa pipa
• 10ac: AULARIAN: Member of Oxford hall – university lecturer leads song in one: U(niversity) L(ecturer) + ARIA (song) in AN (one)
• 11ac: IN ON: Party to love, held in local: O (love) in INN (local)
• 12ac: VENDITION: Sale: don't start it in Nov., I scribbled: END IT (don't start it) in *(NOV I)
• 13ac: CABIN: Area for passengers (cases cooler): CA(ses) + BIN (cooler)
• 14ac: MOWRA: It has edible flowers a worm chewed up: *(A WORM)
• 16ac: TRADE GAP: Sort of balance that's summoned skill when going backeards: PAGED (summoned) ART (skill) all reversed
• 18ac: MEGILLAH: Lengthy US screed badly penned by very good husband: ILL (badly) inside MEGA (very good) H(usband)
• 21ac: MAD-APPLE: Aubergine mum marked with spots: MA (mum) + DAPPLE (mark with spots)
• 26ac: COUNTESS: Grand lady Luxembourg picked out from very many: COUNTLESS (very many) - L(uxembourg)
• 27ac: CONIN: Not in favour of being involved with poisonous liquid: CON (not in favour of) + IN (involved with)
• 28ac: VERST: Silverstone laps... such a distance?: silVERSTone
• 30ac: UNSTOPPER: Open, and spurt may result when you do it: *(OPEN + SPURT) &lit.
• 31ac: FENT: Modern poet, not on crack: FENTON (ref. James Fenton) - ON
• 32ac: ELEGANCE: Refinement, as in ‘cast’: EG (e.g. = “as”) in ELANCE (throw = “cast”)
• 33ac: FRAY: Extremes of fervour always apparent in brawl: F(ervou)R + AY (always)
• 34ac: DERANGED: Crazy, like old kitchen after modern makeover: an old kitchen would be DE-RANGED (have its range removed) in modernization
• 1dn: SANCTUM: If old, court goes in to chief points in private room: AN (obs. if) + CT (court) in SUM (summary = chief points)
• 2dn: PUJA: Hindu festival (NB not found in one Indian state): PUNJAB - NB
• 3dn: A L'ABANDON: A research place soon going round Director recklessly: A LAB ANON around D(irector)
• 4dn: DAVIDIA: Help offered up inveigles greedy Chinese native: AID (help) reversed around AVID (greedy)
• 5dn: LINAGE: String of tinsel in a genipap tree (pretty old): tinseL IN A GEnipap
• 6dn: LAD MAG: Mad when banged up inside, convict displays place for pin-ups?: *(MAD) inside LAG (convict)
• 7dn: PITON: Mountaineers' peg? This gear men use, possibly: *(MOUNTAINEERS PEG) = *(GEAR MEN USE + PITON)
• 8dn: POOR LAWS: Hands around contents of pool, right and left? They assist the needy: PAWS (hands) around pOOl + R(ight) + L(eft)
• 9dn: ANNAM: Delicious food is served up in this former French protectorate: MANNA (delicious food) reversed
• 15dn: WELTERING: Rolling about in the sea, very hot when topless: (s)WELTERING (very hot)
• 17dn: REASONER: Participant in debate? it's rare one's trounced: *(RARE ONES)
• 19dn: LATERAN: Relating to church of Rome, I'll yield to age in what's spoken therein: LATIN (spoken in Roman churches) - I + ERA (age)
• 20dn: HUSTLED: Lutes broadcast in sharp focus, crowded together roughly: *(LUTES) in HD (high definition = “sharp focus”)
• 22dn: POPPLE: Oar, very soft inside, getting to heave in rough water: PP (pianissimo = “very soft”) inside POLE (oar)
• 23dn: LUMPER: Casual worker eading tax maybe, member breaking rule shockingly: MP (member) in *(RULE)
• 24dn: SCUFF: Graze sheep initially on place for links? S(heep) + CUFF (place for (cuff)-links)
• 25dn: BITTY: Disjointed, near to ringing communications giant: homophone of BT (ref. BT)
• 29dn: SYCE: Chauffeur locating carbon in filter: C(arbon) in SYE (filter); interesting because SICE is the same word meaning chauffeur, and the I/Y was unchecked – it's just SYE meaning filted that disambiguates