Saturday, October 3, 2020 — Believe

Introduction

Aside from an obscure jazz musician and some incorrect anagram fodder, today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon did not prove too difficult. Even the latter did not hold me up as the faux pas was readily spotted.

Here is a video suggested by the title I have chosen for today's review.

I invite you to leave a comment to let us know how you fared with the puzzle.

Error in Today's Puzzle

As some readers have observed, there is an error in clue 4d in today's puzzle. At the expense of the surface reading, the clue would work cryptically if modified as follows:

• 4d   Neat wheat beer, crackers affected by the elements (7-6)

Solution to Today's Puzzle

Falcon's experience ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ Legend: █ - solved without assistance █ - incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools █ - solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by puzzle solving tools █ - solved but without fully parsing the clue █ - yet to be solved

Symbols and Markup Conventions
"*" - anagram "~" - sounds like "<" - indicates the preceding letters are reversed "( )" - encloses contained letters "_" - replaces letters that have been deleted  "†" - indicates that the word is present in the clue	"//" - marks the boundary between wordplay and definition when no link word or link phrase is present "/[link word or phrase]/" - marks the boundary between wordplay and definition when a link word or link phrase is present "solid underline" - precise definition "dotted underline" - cryptic definition "dashed underline" - wordplay "double underline" - both wordplay and definition
Click here for further explanation and usage examples of the symbols and markup conventions used on this blog.

Across

1a	Dynasty of French kings with private // capital in Africa (8)

CAPE T|OWN — CAPET (dynasty of French kings) + (with) OWN (private)

The House of Capet^[7] ruled the Kingdom of France from 987 to 1328.

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Cape Town^[7] is the legislative capital of South Africa and the second most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg.

5a	Unthinkingly repeat // average nonsense (6)

PAR|ROT — PAR (average) + ROT (nonsense)

9a	Shifting them, had to // figure it out (2,3,4)

{DO THE MATH}* — anagram of (shifting) THEM HAD TO

11a	Goddess of the hunt // rejected an assist (5)

{DIA|NA}< — reversal of (rejected) {AN (†) + AID (assist)|

In Roman mythology, Diana^[10] is the virginal goddess of the hunt and the moon.

12a	Elizabethan knight // messed up hair gel (7)

RALEIGH* — anagram of (messed up) HAIR GEL

Sir Walter Raleigh^[7] (c. 1552 (or 1554) – 1618) was one of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era.

13a	Tiki bar orders // neckwear of mine for audition (3,4)

{MAI TAIS}~ — sounds like (for audition) {MY TIES (neckwear of mine)}

A tiki bar^[7] is an exotic-themed drinking establishment, typically with Polynesian-inspired decor, that serves elaborate cocktails, especially rum-based mixed drinks such as the Mai Tai and Zombie cocktails.

A mai tai^[5] is a cocktail based on light rum, curaçao, and fruit juices.

14a	People with a common belief // in protest urge rioting (8,5)

{INTEREST GROUP}* — anagram of (rioting) IN PROTEST URGE

16a	Maverick posed clearest // statement of belief (8,5)

{APOSTLES' CREED}* — anagram of (maverick) POSED CLEAREST

The Apostles' Creed^[5,10,12] is a concise statement of Christian belief used in the Western Church, dating from the 4th century and traditionally ascribed to the twelve Apostles. It begins, “I believe in God, the Father Almighty . . . .”

20a	Gab about Brazilian resort // vehicle (7)

CHA(RIO)T — CHAT (gab) containing (about) RIO (Brazilian resort)

Rio de Janeiro^[5] [commonly known as Rio] is a city in eastern Brazil, on the Atlantic coast. The chief port of Brazil, it was the country’s capital from 1763 until 1960, when it was replaced by Brasilia.

21a	Novel I rue as a // massive tract (7)

EURASIA* — anagram of (novel) I RUE AS A

23a	Have a beer, say, // down by hockey arena (5)

D|RINK — D(own) + (by) RINK (hockey arena)

24a	Prepare to be dubbed “heavy-sounding // composer” (4,5)

{NEAL HEFTI}~ — sounds like (sounding) {KNEEL (prepare to be dubbed) + HEFTY (heavy)}

Dub^[5] means to make (someone) a knight by the ritual touching of the shoulder with a sword.

The Accolade

In a painting entitled The Accolade^[7], British artist Edmund Leighton (1852 – 1922) depicts an accolade, a ceremony to confer knighthood. The "knight-elect" kneels in front of the monarch on a knighting-stool. The monarch lays the side of a sword's blade onto the candidate's right shoulder. The monarch then raises the sword gently just up over the apprentice's head and places it on his left shoulder. The newly appointed knight arises, and the administrator presents him with the insignia of their knightly order.

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Neal Hefti^[7] (1922 – 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and arranger. Among his achievements, he played trumpet for Woody Herman, created arrangements for Herman and Count Basie. and wrote music for movies and television series.

Post Mortem
While I came close to deciphering the name of the musician from the wordplay, I did have to check the spelling — principally, to confirm the final letter. So, technically, this gave me one of the checking letters for 19d.

25a	Like candy // wrapped in dirty rag, usually from the rear (6)

{_SU|GAR|Y_}< — reversed (from the rear) and hidden in (wrapped in) dirtY RAG USually

26a	Panic // out of control this year (8)

HYSTERIA* — anagram of (out of control) THIS YEAR

Down

1d	Some fragrant wood // planters, we hear (6)

CEDARS~ — sounds like (we hear) SEEDERS (planters)

2d	Ring enclosing true // part of a rose (5)

PE(T)AL — PEAL (ring) containing (enclosing) T(rue)

3d	John flipped about Southern // poet (1,1,5)

{T. (S). ELIOT}< — reversal of (flipped) TOILET (john) containing (about) S(outhern)

T. S. Eliot^[5] (1888 – 1965) was an American-born British poet, critic, and playwright; full name Thomas Stearns Eliot. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1948.

4d	Near wheat beer, crackers // affected by the elements (7-6)

{WEATHER-BEATEN}* — anagram of (crackers) NEAT WHEAT BEER . . .

. . . or is it an anagram of NEAR WHEAT BEET?

This anagram is even more crackers than the setters intended as the fodder does not provide the letters needed to form the solution. Perhaps, we could call it a "near anagram". Oh well, everyone is entitled to the occasional lapse; it simply proves they are human.

As an anagram indicator, crackers^[5] is used in an informal British sense meaning insane or extremely angry.

6d	Getting confused // working with numbers around 50 (7)

ADD(L)ING — ADDING (working with numbers) containing (around) L ([Roman numeral] 50)

7d	Recite from a book, // saying “grass legal” (4,5)

{READ ALOUD}~ — sounds like (saying) {REED (grass) + ALLOWED (legal)}

8d	Byzantine patterns // where churchgoers find a cross? (8)

TRANSEPT* — anagram of (byzantine) PATTERNS

In a cross-shaped church, a transept^[5] is either^* of the two parts forming the arms of the cross shape, projecting at right angles from the nave.

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^* This definition is consistent across British dictionaries. Wikipedia, on the other hand, defines a transept^[7] as comprising both arms with the individual arms being called semitransepts. This may be an American concept, as US dictionaries define the word transept^[3,11,12] as meaning either the two arms collectively or each arm individually.

I believe that "cross" is likely an allusion to the shape of the building. While one might find a cross almost anywhere in a church, the principal cross would be found over the altar in the apse and not in the transept.

10d	British cabinet minister, // old as the hills, keeping me hidden (4,9)

HO(ME| SECRET)ARY — HOARY (old as the hills) containing (keeping) {ME (†) + SECRET (hidden)}

In the UK, the Home Secretary^[5] is the the Secretary of State in charge of the Home Office^[5], the British government department dealing with domestic affairs, including law and order, immigration, and broadcasting, in England and Wales.

Here and There

The term Secretary of State[5] has quite different meanings in the UK, Canada and the US. In the UK, a Secretary of State is the head of a major government department ⇒ the Secretary of State for Defence. In Canada, a Secretary of State is a [junior] government minister responsible for a specific area within a department [for which a senior minister has overall responsibility]. In the US, the Secretary of State is the head of the State Department, responsible for foreign affairs.

14d	Singling out, // in proviso, Latin grammar (9)

_ISO|LATIN|G_ — hidden in (in) provISO LATIN Grammar

15d	Patterns used for pricing // fish in strips (3,5)

BAR (COD)ES — COD (fish) contained in (in) BARES (strips)

17d	Figure Rodin sculpted: // fiddle outside front of house (7)

T(H)INKER — TINKER (fiddle) containing (outside) H (front [initial letter] of House)

Auguste Rodin^[5] (1840–1917) was a French sculptor. He was chiefly concerned with the human form. Notable works: The Thinker (1880) and The Kiss (1886).

18d	Wild horse at // calling distance (7)

EARSHOT* — anagram of (wild) HORSE AT

19d	Blather “I’m a // town in Washington” (6)

YAK|IM|A — YAK (blather) + IM (I'm) +A (†)

Yakima^[7] is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington.

22d	Furniture restricted // up to now (2,3)

SO FA|R — SOFA (furniture) + R (restricted; film classification rating)

Epilogue

The title of today's review comes from 14a and 16a.

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Key to Reference Sources: 

  ^[1]   - The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition

  ^[2]   - Search Chambers - (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary)

  ^[3]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (American Heritage Dictionary)

  ^[4]   - TheFreeDictionarycom (Collins English Dictionary)

  ^[5]   - Lexico (formerly Oxford Dictionaries Online) (Oxford Dictionary of English)

  ^[6]   - Lexico (formerly Oxford Dictionaries Online) (Oxford Advanced American Dictionary)

  ^[7]   - Wikipedia

  ^[8]   - Reverso Online Dictionary (Collins French-English Dictionary)

  ^[9]   - Infoplease (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)

^[10]   - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)

^[11]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary)

^[12]   - CollinsDictionary.com (Webster’s New World College Dictionary)

^[13]   - MacmillanDictionary.com (Macmillan Dictionary)

^[14]   - CollinsDictionary.com (COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary)

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Signing off for today — Falcon