Saturday, January 30, 2021 — Cursed

Introduction

In hindsight, I struggled with today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon more than I should have. I seemed to be suffering a foggy brain this morning. I thought I had got a good night's sleep but found myself exceptionally tired.

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

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

8a	Complete // European language audited (6)

FINISH~ — sounds like (audited) FINNISH (European language)

9a	Drink I consumed, acquiring new // muse (8)

RUM|I(N)ATE — RUM (drink) + I (†) + ATE (consumed) containing (acquiring) N(ew)

10a	Heard charming woman, if // leading sheep (10)

{BELL|WETHER}~ — sounds like (heard) {BELLE (charming woman) + WHETHER (if)}

11a	Some advice // is cockeyed (4)

TIPS — double definition

12a	Lunatic ran motel // home for the Canadiens (8)

MONTREAL* — anagram of (lunatic) RAN MOTEL

The Montreal Canadiens^*[7] are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec. In normal times, they are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). However, as a result of cross-border travel restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this season they play in an all-Canadian North Division.

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^* Canadien is the French spelling of Canadian

14a	Tavern fare sounded // natural (6)

{IN|BRED}~ — sounds like (sounded) {INN (tavern) + BREAD (fare)}

16a	Pair of boxers approving a fellow’s // reps, at times (7,6)

BO|OKING| A|GENT|S — BO (pair [initial two letters] of BOxers) + OKING (approving) + A (†) + GENT (fellow) + S ('s)

18a	Decide not to go for // pops, and have dinner (4,2)

PAS|S UP — PAS (pops; informal term for fathers) + (and) SUP (have dinner)

19a	Suggestive quality // car brought back in curve (8)

RAC<|IN|ESS — reversal of (brought back) CAR (†) + IN (†) + ESS (curve)

22a	Cook rancid, somewhat // edible pods (4)

_OK|RA_ — hidden in (somewhat) coOK RAncid

24a	Pencils and bats // game in which wood is knocked down (10)

CANDLEPINS* — anagram of (bats) PENCILS AND

26a	Save lock // support (8)

BUT|TRESS — BUT (save; except) + TRESS (lock [of hair])

27a	A certain bad // playwright (6)

ONE|ILL — ONE (a certain) + ILL (bad)

Eugene O'Neill^[5] (1888–1953) was an American dramatist. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his first full-length play, Beyond the Horizon (1920). Other notable works: The Iceman Cometh (1946) and Long Day’s Journey into Night (1956, posthumously).

Down

1d	Old Roman // company taking on cake decorator (6)

C(ICER)O — CO (company) containing (taking on) ICER (cake decorator)

Marcus Tullius Cicero^[5] (106–43 BC) was a Roman statesman, orator, and writer. (show more )

As an orator and writer Cicero established a model for Latin prose; his surviving works include speeches, treatises on rhetoric, philosophical works, and letters. A supporter of Pompey against Julius Caesar, in the Philippics (43 BC) he attacked Mark Antony, who had him put to death.

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2d	Breaches of a law // Olivia’s not changing (10)

VIOLATIONS* — anagram of (changing) OLIVIAS NOT

3d	Audibly charge live // fly-catching bird (6)

PHOE~|BE — sounds like (audibly) FEE (charge) + BE (live)

4d	Clever // curve (4)

ARCH — double definition

5d	Hurt about damage, // feeling the pain (8)

S(MAR)TING — STING (hurt) containing (about) MAR (damage)

6d	Secure // rate of progress for a sailor (4)

KNOT — double definition

I got off on the wrong TACK here — which seemed to be a reasonably good fit to both definitions. It certainly made solving the northeast difficult.

7d	Lids opening with small // corks, perhaps (8)

S|TOPPERS — TOPPERS (lids; each being an informal term for hats) preceded by (opening with) S(mall)

13d	Returned imperial // brew (5)

LAGER< — reversal of (returned) REGAL (imperial)

15d	Forbid something slippery about a rug’s fuzz, // cause of many a pratfall (6,4)

BAN|(A|NA P)EEL — {BAN (forbid) + EEL (something slippery)} containing (about) {A (†) NAP (rug's fuzz)

16d	Faint // deficiency in boxing match (5,3)

B(LACK) OUT — LACK (deficiency) contained in (in) BOUT (boxing match)

17d	Little rascal pretended /to be/ struck (8)

IMP|ACTED — IMP (little rascal) + ACTED (pretended)

20d	Bovine eats everything // green (6)

C(ALL)OW — COW (bovine) containing (eats) ALL (everything)

21d	One // taking part in kissing lessons (6)

_SING|LE_ — hidden in (taking part in) kisSING LEssons

23d	Breaking a ten, // pay to play (4)

ANTE* — anagram of (breaking) A TEN

25d	Part of the body // is acquainted with talking (4)

NOSE~ — sounds like (talking) KNOWS (is acquainted with)

Epilogue

The phrase "bell, book, and candle"^[7] refers to a Latin Christian method of excommunication by anathema^*, imposed on a person who had committed an exceptionally grievous sin. Evidently introduced by Pope Zachary around the middle of the 8th century, the rite was once used by the Roman Catholic Church.

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^* a formal curse by a pope or a council of the Church, excommunicating a person or denouncing a doctrine

The ceremony traditionally involved a bishop, with 12 priests bearing candles, and would solemnly be pronounced in some suitably conspicuous place. The bishop would then pronounce (in Latin) the formula of the anathema, which ends with the following words (translated to English):

Wherefore in the name of God the All-powerful, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, of the Blessed Peter, Prince of the Apostles, and of all the saints, in virtue of the power which has been given us of binding and loosing in Heaven and on earth, we deprive him and all his accomplices and all his abettors of the Communion of the Body and Blood of Our Lord, we separate him from the society of all Christians, we exclude him from the bosom of our Holy Mother the Church in Heaven and on earth, we declare him excommunicated and anathematized and we judge him condemned to eternal fire with Satan and his angels and all the reprobate, so long as he will not burst the fetters of the demon, do penance and satisfy the Church; we deliver him to Satan to mortify his body, that his soul may be saved on the day of judgment.

After this recitation the priests would respond: Fiat, fiat, fiat ("So be it! So be it! So be it!") The bishop would then ring a bell, close a holy book, and he and the assisting priests would snuff out their candles by dashing them to the ground.

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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