I thought this was about right for a Sunday puzzle. A few long charades to tease the mind, and an enjoyable solve on the whole. Thanks to Hypnos. Definitions are underlined in the clues. [[The pictures at the bottom have unidentified links to the puzzle.]]
Across
1 Stubbornness ruined body defending posh group of drivers (8)
OBDURACY : Anagram of(ruined) BODY containing(defending) [ U(abbrev. for upper class;posh) + RAC(abbrev. for Royal Automobile Club;group of drivers ].
5 Trashy equipment supplied by school (6)
KITSCH : KIT(equipment;gear) plus(supplied by) SCH(abbrev. for “school”).
9 A vehicle kept by retired German in US port (8)
SAVANNAH : [ A + VAN(a vehicle) ] contained in(kept by …) reversal of(retired) HANS(archetypal German name).
10 Sporting contest a timeless group backed in dome (6)
CUPOLA : CUP(a sporting contest, eg. the FA Cup) + reversal of(backed) [A + “lot”(a group) minus(…less) abbrev. for “time”].
12 A number for departure? (5)
DIRGE : Cryptic defn: A song/a number for a funeral/a departure.
13 A priest, old chap moved when digesting extremes of religiosity in unorthodox books (9)
APOCRYPHA : A + P(abbrev. for “priest”) + O(abbrev. for “old”) + { anagram of(moved) CHAP containing(when digesting) outermost letters of(extremes of) “religiousity” }.
Answer: The books that are not accepted by certain faiths as being part of the Bible.
14 Item in section of verse cut short (6)
COUPLE : “couplet”(a section of verse;a pair of successive lines of verse, especially if they rhyme and are of the same length) minus
its last letter(cut short).
Defn: Two people involved in a romantic or sexual relationship.
16 Second rousing cheer enveloping sports body and athlete (2,5)
MO FARAH : [ MO(short for a moment;a second, as in “hang on for a mo/second!”) + RAH(a rousing cheer for a team or player;short for “hurrah”) ] containing(enveloping) FA(abbrev. for the Football Association;a sport body).
Answer: Mo (short for Mohamed) Farah, Somali-born British athlete, double gold medallist in the 2012 Olympics.
19 Dubious name associated with individual plant (7)
ANEMONE : Anagram of(Dubious) NAME placed after(associated with) AN(the indefinite article for “one” of;an individual something).
21 Report of official banning device to detect change? (6)
SENSOR : Homophone of(Report of) “censor”(an official responsible for banning, for various reasons, certain parts of publications, presentations or communications).
23 Opportunist always following Cuban revolutionary around college (9)
BUCCANEER : E’ER(a poetic contraction of “ever”;always, as in “he’s ever ready for a fight”) placed after(following) [ anagram of(revolutionary) CUBAN containing(around) C(abbrev. for “college”) ].
Answer: A pirate, hence an opportunist.
25 Put off follower of strict regime overlooking island (5)
DETER : “dieter”(a follower of a strict regime with regard to food intake) minus(overlooking) “i”(abbrev. for “island”).
26 Member of crew having endless argument with reporter (6)
ROADIE : “row”(an argument) minus its last letter(endless) plus(with) ADIE(Kate, British television reporter, noted for her frontline reporting of wars, revolutions, etc.).
Answer: A member of the crew who transports and sets up equipment for a band or group on tour.
27 Succeed at university in medical examination? (6-2)
FOLLOW-UP : FOLLOW(to be the successor to somebody – whether successful at it or not) + UP(to be attending lectures at and participating in activities in a university).
Answer: A medical examination to check up on a patient’s progress after an operation or illness.
28 Protective cover in activity uncle profits from? Not initially (6)
AWNING : “pawning”(the activity by which a pawnbroker;uncle in slang profits from) minus its first letter(Not initially).
29 Stay hiker disrupted with no end of drink in a frenzied state (8)
HYSTERIA : Anagram of(disrupted) “stay hiker” minus the last letter of(with no end of) “drink”.
Down
1 Contemplate banning outsiders being legitimate (6)
ONSIDE : “consider”(to contemplate;think about) minus its 2 outermost letters(banning outsiders).
Answer: Describing a player in a team sports who is in a legitimate position to play the ball.
2 Bird beginning to swoop in part for fish (5,4)
DOVER SOLE : DOVE(a bird belonging to the same family as a pigeon, but smaller and with a pointed tail) + [ initial letter of(beginning to) “swoop” contained in(in) ROLE(a part, eg. in a play/drama) ].
3 Wash some workwear in sequence (5)
RINSE : Hidden in(some) “workwear in sequence”.
4 Arab in African country supported by European in absurd behaviour (7)
CHARADE : AR(abbrev. for “Arab”) contained in(in) CHAD(a republic in northern Central Africa) placed above(supported by, in a down clue) E(abbrev. for “European”).
Answer: A pretence or deceptive behaviour carried to such an extreme as to be an absurd travesty.
6 Drug that is probed by British university academic and knight (9)
IBUPROFEN : I.E.(abbrev. for “id est”;that is) containing(probed by) [ B(abbrev. for “British”) + U(abbrev. for “university”) + PROF(short for “professor”;a senior academic in a university) ] plus(and) N(abbrev. for “knight” in chess notation).
Answer: An analgesic and anti-inflammatory drug.
7 Bend also found in Spain (5)
STOOP : TOO(also;in addition) contained in(found in) SP(abbrev. for Spain).
8 Senior diplomat with a country house almost close to collapse – source of worry? (8)
HEADACHE : HE(abbrev. for “His/Her Excellency”;a term of address for an ambassador/ambassadress;a senior diplomat) plus(with) A + “dacha”(a house or villa in the Russian countryside) minus its last letter(almost) + last letter of(close to) “collapse”.
11 Latest character bringing up low cinematic technique? (4)
ZOOM : Z(the last;latest character in the English alphabet) + reversal of(bringing up, in a down clue) MOO(to low;to make the deep low sound uttered by cattle].
Answer: The cinematic technique of bringing a subject into close-up (zoom in) or causing it to recede (zoom out) while maintaining focus, using a zoom lens.
15 Blame about to be forgotten in testing period (9)
PROBATION : “reprobation”(disapproval;condemnation;blame) minus(… to be forgotten) “re”(about;with reference to).
Answer: A trial;a period during which a person’s conduct, performance, etc. is tested for various reasons, prior to approval.
17 Awkward to-do amid bow, say, in part of church (4-5)
ROOD-TOWER : Anagram of(Awkward) TO-DO contained in(amid) ROWER(an example of which;say, is the “bow”, the person who pulls the foremost oar in rowing a boat).
Answer: A tower above the intersection of the nave and transept of a church.
18 Preserve trailed by celebrated baseball player in capital (8)
CANBERRA : CAN(to preserve in a can) placed before(trailed by …) BERRA(nicknamed “Yogi”, an American baseball great, both player and manager).
Answer: The capital city of Australia.
20 Fair English archdeacon (4)
EVEN : E(abbrev. for “English”) + VEN(abbrev. for “venerable”, the title for an Anglican archdeacon).
Answer: Fair/equitable, as in “an even bargain”.
21 Australia encapsulated by scornful former President (7)
SARKOZY : OZ(the Australian slang for their country) contained in(encapsulated by) SARKY(slang for “sarcastic”;being scornful).
Answer: Nicolas, newly former French President.
22 Drink obtained by German musician in audition (6)
GRAPPA : G(abbrev. for “German”) + homophone of(in audition) “rapper”(a musician – of sorts, in my opinion).
Answer: An Italian alcoholic drink made from the residue of grapes after being pressed in winemaking.
24 Killer around hospital and series of shops (5)
CHAIN : CAIN(Biblical killer of his brother Abel) containing(around) H(abbrev. for “hospital”).
25 Pottery in store I brought out with paper (5)
DELFT : “deli”(short for “delicatessen”;specialty food store) minus(… brought out) “i” plus(with) FT(abbrev. for the Financial Times newspaper).
Answer: The Dutch city famous for its Delft Blue pottery.
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For the answer to Pic#4 please click here (3rd paragraph).
Thanks Hypnos for the puzzle and scchua for the blog.
[[4D Charade featured stars Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant and music by Henry Mancini. Village People’s singing gave me a headache 8D. Scarlett Johansson was in Girl with a Pearl Earring in which her father was a Delftware Painter 25D.]]
Cheers…
[[Hi grandpuzzler, I’ve added a link for pic#4’s answer beneath the pictures – I’ll spare you the music video. And of course, the artist of the real “Girl With A Pearl Earring”, Vermeer came from Delft, too.]]
Agree with you, scchua, about an enjoyable solve on the whole but I was held up on the SW corner by 18d, thinking for ages that it must start JAM… (a type of preserve).
Thanks to setter and blogger.