There were a couple of clues that, having got the answers, required a bit more time to parse. Enjoyed the challenge, thanks to Kairos. Definitions are underlined in the clues. [[The pictures at the bottom have unidentified links to the puzzle. Please enclose any comments on them in double brackets. Thank you.]]
Across
1 Country represented by two half-cut Blues? (6)
CYPRUS : 1st two letters out of four of(half-cut) “cyan”(a greenish blue) plus(two;a second …) 1st four letters out of eight of(half-cut) “Prussian”(indicative of Prussian blue, a deep greenish-blue).
4 Bright oriental sailor returns with leader of Indian intellectuals (8)
LITERATI : LIT(bright;lighted up) + E(abbrev. for the East;oriental) + reversal of(returns) TAR(a nickname for a sailor) plus(with) 1st letter of(leader of) “Indian “.
Answer: Collectively, literary or scholarly people.
9 Verbally unravels part of a sentence (6)
PHRASE : Homophone of(Verbally) “frays”(unravels;wears out into tatters or loose threads, especially at the edges).
10 Draw attention away from well-informed theatre director (8)
UPSTAGED : UP(up-to-date;well-informed) + STAGE(preceded by “the”, the theatre as a profession) + D(abbrev. for a “director”).
12 Men aim to reproduce a fossil (8)
AMMONITE : Anagram of(reproduce) MEN AIM TO.
13 Homework about Corinthian character’s agreement (3-3)
PRE-NUP : PREP(homework in preparation of lessons at school) containing(about) NU(the 13th character in the Greek alphabet, as used by or in things Corinthian).
Answer: Short for a pre-nuptial agreement.
15 Aim to return about lunchtime to eat (4)
DINE : Reversal of(to return) END(aim;objective) containing(about) I(Roman numeral for 1, the time in the afternoon for lunch).
16 Vehicle currently parking in Berkshire town (10)
SNOWPLOUGH : { NOW(currently, timewise) + P(abbrev. for “parking”) } contained in(in) SLOUGH(the town in Berkshire).
19 Kind president’s to propose bringing back republican (10)
CHARITABLE : “chair”(preceded by “the”, the person who heads or presides over a meeting) with “R”(abbrev. for a “Republican”, especially in US politics) moved toward the start of the word(bringing back) + TABLE(to propose, say, a motion at a meeting).
20 Inwardly Nietzsche wants to meditate (4)
CHEW : Hidden in(Inwardly) “Nietzsche wants “.
Answer: Same sense as in “to chew the cud”… since cows do look as if they meditate a lot.
23 Vegetable container holds old rubbish (6)
POTATO : PO(short for a “chamber pot”, a container to urinate in when you can’t or won’t go to the toilet) containing(holds) { O(abbrev. for “old”) TAT(rubbishy, tasteless articles, from “tatty”).
25 Promise to have fun with pun? (8)
WORDPLAY : WORD(a promise, as in “to give your word that you’ll ….”) + PLAY(to have fun).
Defn: That for which a pun is an example; ? of.
27 Athens in turmoil about religious actor (8)
THESPIAN : Anagram of(in turmoil) ATHENS containing(about) PI(slang for being religious, from “pious”).
28 Hungarian inventor eats half of casserole in cafe (6)
BISTRO : BÍRÓ(László, Hungarian inventor of the ballpoint pen, lending his self-named trademark as a generic word for such pens) containing(eats) 1st two letters of(half of) “stew”(a casserole). … in other words, goulash in a kávézó.
29 Divine office that was something unparalleled (8)
NONESUCH : NONE(the Ninth Hour, one of the fixed times of prayer in the Christian Divine Office, the official set of daily prayers – counted from sunrise, it’s in the mid-afternoon) + SUCH(the pronoun for that “something”, as in “crosswords, codewords, Sudoku, and such”).
30 Small time monarch meets ex-officio player (6)
STEREO : S(abbrev. for “small”) + T(abbrev. for “time”) + ER(abbrev. for “Elizabeth Regina”, the English monarch) + EO(abbrev. for the Latin “ex-officio”). A clue consisting solely of abbreviations.
Answer: Short for a vinyl record or CD player that reproduces stereophonic sound.
Down
1 Composer seen in police state (7)
COPLAND : COP(slang for a policeman) + LAND(a state;a country).
Answer: Aaron, American composer.
2 With irony Ma and Pa get mixed up with criminal tendency (9)
PYROMANIA : Anagram of(get mixed up) [IRONY plus(With) MA plus(and) PA].
3 Overlooked evening prayer without a choir? (6)
UNSUNG : Double defn: 1st: Not honoured;forgotten, as in “unsung heroes”; and 2nd: Without a choir, an evening service would just be prayers and unsung hymns.
5 Troublemakers head off the meek? (4)
IMPS : “wimps”(collectively, “the meek”;feeble and ineffective persons) minus its 1st letter(head off).
6 Study of doctors supported by Irish diocese without reservation (8)
ENTIRELY : ENT(abbrev. for “Ear, Nose and Throat”, a specialised medical practice and study) placed above(supported by, in a down clue) IR(abbrev. for “Irish”) + ELY(the diocese in East England, famous for its cathedral).
7 A reactor’s beginning to work with Nitrogen gas (5)
ARGON : A + 1st letter of(…’s beginning) “reactor ” + GO(to work;to function, as in “a well-made machine will go for a long time” + N(the chemical symbol for the element nitrogen).
Answer: An inert gas.
8 Cool and warmth may be penetrating (2-5)
IN-DEPTH : IN(in fashion;chic,in slang, “cool!”) + DEPTH(the intensity;warmth, as in “the warmth;intensity of some colours”.
11 Schoolboy to back Botham getting bowled out (7)
ETONIAN : “bet on Ian”(to back;to put your money on Ian Botham, former English cricketer) minus(getting … out) “b”(abbrev. for “bowled” in cricket notation).
Answer: A schoolboy attending Eton College … and inclined to place bets?
14 Accept rattle-brained wife replacing husband (7)
SWALLOW : “shallow”(rattle-brained;giddy;lacking intellectual depth) with “w”(abbrev. for “wife”) replacing “h”(abbrev. for “husband”).
Answer: To believe something without question, as in “she swallowed his excuse”, the implication being that that something is untrue.
17 Cover quiet prostitute in coat (9)
UPHOLSTER : [ P(abbrev. for “piano”, musical direction to play quietly) + HO(African American slang for “prostitute”, derived from “whore”) ] contained in(in) ULSTER(a type of overcoat, so called because it was first produced in Northern Ireland).
Answer: To cover tightly with fabric, eg. furniture.
18 Groups of animals whipped by postie (8)
BIOTYPES : Anagram of(whipped) BY POSTIE.
Defn: … that are genetically identical in some respect(s), ie. have the same genotype(s).
19 Covers on brown boat’s winding gear (7)
CAPSTAN : CAPS(covers) placed above(on, in a down clue) TAN(a yellowish -brown colour).
21 Directions to give American encouragement (3,2,2)
WAY TO GO! : WAY TO GO(as when giving directions “that’s the way to go to get to…”)
Answer: An American expression said to someone to encourage him/her.
22 Unusually 3/4 of drafting is not settled (6)
ADRIFT : Anagram of(Unusually) six out of eight letters of(3/4 of) “drafting “.
24 Link with Asian hotel we hear (3-2)
TIE-IN : Homophone of(we hear) “Thai inn”(a small hotel in Thailand, Asia).
26 Mineral of distinction turning up after earth is extracted (4)
TALC : Reversal of(turning up) “eclat”(splendour;magnificence;distintion) minus(after … is extracted) “e”(abbrev. for “earth”, as in electrical drawings and such).
Answer: The mineral ore that contains magnesium silicate, and is used in the manufacture of, well, talcum powder.
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Marvellous blog as always scchua. I’m sure you meant to say in 15A that AIM = END.
Thanks nmsindy. Blog corrected.
I found this a little harder than some IoS puzzles but it was a fun solve with some excellent cluing, and although it wasn’t the hardest clue to solve I particularly enjoyed the smoothness of 16ac. I had the most trouble in the NW and my last ones in were COPLAND, CYPRUS and UNSUNG.
Sorry to butt in but any blog of #1244? 🙂
Thanks for the blog scchua. I only have one quibble and that is in your parsing of 19a where the R for republican is brought back one place and not to the start of the word.
Hi Crosophile @4
Apologies, this one seems to have slipped through the net. The scheduled blogger failed to turn up and I didn’t notice. 🙁 (I’ll blame the recent festivities and various closing dates for entries being extended.)
The omission will be rectified later today.
Thanks Howard L. For 19a, I was using “to” in the directional sense, as in “move from east to west”. Anyway I’ve changed it to “toward”.
A minor error in the parsing of 16ac: it’s NOW (currently) P(arking) in SLOUGH.
Thanks, Kairos and scchua
[[second row, 3rd picture – are they Corinthian columns – ref 13ac?]]
Nice puzzle. 16a also my favourite.
Hi Gaufrid@6. No problem. From the setter point of view I think it’s a privilege that anyone ever blogs us at all!
Oops! Thanks allan_c. Blog corrected.
[[It’s a much later architectural order than the Corinthian, and was invented by an Englishman.]]
[[Well, I thought they were just rather ill-proportioned Ionic pilasters, but your last post, scchua, made me Google “Ammonite column” on a hunch, and behold, the very picture. Can’t help with any of the others, though, I’m afraid.]]
[[Ah, of course COPLAND wrote Rodeo, tying in with #3.]]
[[#1 and #4 are linked to the same answer in the puzzle (one by way of Italian). These and #7 can only be solved, I believe, by recourse to a Google image search, but that spoils the fun. As for #5, King Solomon was married to an Ammonite (not that kind). No idea of the relevance of #2.]]
[[IanSW3, yiou’re right, I think, with #1 – you’d need to be a bit of an opera-goer to know it. But then there’re always the usual aids to help solve any puzzle. The spacecraft in #4 couldn’t quite hold an astronaut (Russian or otherwise). Can’t comment on #7, but you probably have the right answer. #5: That’s an interesting twist you’ve got, but I was thinking of Solomon King’s greatest hit song. Hint for #2: The main activity of John Player and Sons, besides sponsoring Formula One.]]
My thanks to Scchua for the blog and to all for your comments.
Much appreciate your dropping by, Kairos.
[[Well, unless chain-smoking is a form of PYROMANIA, I’m stumped.]]
[[OK, for the record then, my final guesses are —
1. Photo from recent ROH production of la Rondine (the SWALLOW) by Puccini.
2. A logo for John Player’s Special cigarettes, smoking which is a form of PYROMANIA.
3. A rodeo clown, linked to Rodeo by Aaron COPLAND.
4. The STEREO satellites (sorry to suggest a connection to #1 before — brain was fuzzy).
5. Solomon King’s biggest hit was apparently “She Wears My Ring,” so perhaps the happy couple had a PRE-NUP.
6. An example of the AMMONITE order of architecture invented by an English architect in the 19th century.
7. An Old ETONIAN cocktail. (Never heard of one, and it sounds vile.)
I don’t like solving these with Google image search, as usually the answer just leaps out. Thanks for the challenge, though.]]
[[Ian SW3. Pic2: CAPSTAN is a brand of cigarettes, from the same tobacco group that includes John Players. Pic 5 ‘She Wears My Ring’ is based on the Mexican tune La Golondrina (The Swallow). Well done on the others.
As far as possible, I try to pick those pics, that even a Google image search will not yield the answer directly, as otherwise there’s not much fun, as you say.]]