Guardian Quiptic 1358 by Pangakupu

Thank you to Pangakupu. Definitions are underlined in the clues.

Across
1. Artist possibly producing proper art – Titian? (8,7)
PORTRAIT PAINTER : Anagram of(producing) PROPER ART – TITIAN.
Answer: An example/possibly of an artist who specialises.

9. Gossips time and time again engaged in lies (7)
TATTLES : [ T(abbrev. for “time”) plus(and … again) T(abbrev. for “time”) ] contained in(engaged in) TALES(lies/fibs).

10. European is not upset by a European country (7)
ESTONIA : E(abbrev. for “European”) + anagram of(… upset) IS NOT plus(by) A.

11. Pub, one with two names (3)
INN : I(Roman numeral for “one”) plus(with) NN(2 x abbrev. for “name”).

12. How NASA may activate rocket for publicity event? (5,6)
PRESS LAUNCH : Double defn: 1st: What NASA may do to activate a rocket – press the launch button.

13. Settle area, moving houses etc. (4,6)
REAL ESTATE : Anagram of(…, moving) SETTLE AREA.

15. Ancient story? I am surprised this is only half complete (4)
MYTH : MY!(an expression for “I am surprised!) + 1st 2 out of 4 letters of(… is only half complete) “this”.

18. Dislike speed, avoiding start of sprint (4)
HATE : “haste”(speed/swiftness) minus(avoiding) 1st letter of(start of) “sprint”.

20. Sentence hurts the head of silly people (10)
BIRDBRAINS : BIRD(a sentence/term in prison, as in “do bird”, from “birdlime”, rhyming slang for “time”) + BRAINS(hurts someone’s head by hitting it with an object).

23. Educational payment? End with total NUS disputed (7,4)
STUDENT LOAN : Anagram of(… disputed) [ END plus(with) TOTAL NUS ].

25. Expat in part of Melbourne, primarily (3)
POM : 1st letters, respectively, of(…, primarily) “part of Melbourne”.
Answer: … or “pommy”, Australian slang for a British person as an expat/an expatriate in Australia. And as the clue says, maybe located in Melbourne.

26. Regret pinching English money for followers (7)
RETINUE : RUE(to regret/feel remorse) containing(pinching) [ E(abbrev. for “English”) + TIN(slang for money) ].

27. Book recalled in embracing love and passion (7)
EMOTION : Reversal of(… recalled) TOME(a large book) + IN containing(embracing) O(letter representing 0, “love” in tennis scores).

28. The trendy dealer, not well treated with kindness (6-9)
TENDER-HEARTEDLY : Anagram of(…, not well treated) THE TRENDY DEALER.

Down
1. Old leader revised Part 1 with support (9)
PATRIARCH : Anagram of(revised) [PART + I(Roman numeral for “1”) ] plus(with) ARCH(a curved structure that supports the weight of, say a bridge across a gap).

2. Staff carrying barrel over a round building (7)
ROTUNDA : [ ROD(a straight bar/a staff) containing(carrying) TUN(a large beer or wine barrel) ] placed above(over, in a down clue) A.

3. Des, increasingly wan, turned up and fell ill again (8)
RELAPSED : Reversal of(…, turned up, in a down clue) [ DES + PALER(increasingly pale/wan) ].

4. Publication is certain, though not right (5)
ISSUE : IS + “sure”(certain/doubtless) minus(though not) “r”(abbrev. for “right”).

5. Macho cider-making guy? One’s a fixer (5,4)
PRESS STUD : How one might describe a STUD(a macho guy, one with a lot of masculinity, especially in the sexual sense) who makes cider, which involves using a PRESS to extract apple juice.
Defn: …/fastener.

6. I try an unusual way of receiving work? (2-4)
IN-TRAY : Anagram of(… unusual) I TRY AN.

7. Rented property in outskirts of the French city (7)
TENANCY : 1st and last letters of(outskirts of) “the” + NANCY(city in north-eastern France).

8. Arrive at some rare achievement (5)
REACH : Hidden in(some) “rare achievement”.

14. Hitter hit out, being some way down the list? (9)
THIRTIETH : Anagram of(… out) HITTER HIT.

16. Hard American male plugging sweetheart for illicit cash (4,5)
HUSH MONEY : H(abbrev. for “hard”) + US(abbrev. for the United States, describing things American) + [ M(abbrev. for “male”) contained in(plugging) HONEY(like “sweetheart”, an endearing term for a loved one) ].

17. Popular salesman supporting public relations computer information (8)
PRINTOUT : [ IN(fashionable/popular) + TOUT(one who solicits customers/a salesman) ] placed below(supporting, in a down clue) PR(abbrev. for “public relations”).
Remember this?

19. Not upset about relative in Somerset town (7)
TAUNTON : Anagram of(… upset) NOT containing(about) AUNT(a relative).

21. Suggested mischievous character didn’t tell the truth (7)
IMPLIED : IMP(a mischievous character/a rascal) + LIED(didn’t tell the truth).

22. Meeting for which some visitors are late? (6)
SEANCE : Cryptic defn: A session that tries to contact the spirits/ghosts of dead/late people to visit.

23. Mild dispute about river fish (5)
SPRAT : SPAT(a mild dispute/a quarrel about an unimportant matter) containing(about) R(abbrev. for “river”).
A food fish:

24. Europe rather suppressing this stage work (5)
OPERA : Hidden in(… suppressing) “Europe rather”.