Rice, as we suspect, affected sage (8)
I believe the answer is:
wiseacre
'affected sage' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both people as well as being singular nouns.
Perhaps you can see a link between them that I don't see?
'rice as we suspect' is the wordplay.
'suspect' is an anagram indicator (a suspicious or unusual spelling).
'rice'+'as'+'we'='riceaswe'
'riceaswe' anagrammed gives 'WISEACRE'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for wiseacre that I've seen before include "One assuming air of superior wisdom - simpleton" , "Show-off" , "Smart alec" , "Person with an affectation of wisdom" , "upstart" .)