Tag: Collectible trinket crossword clue

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Constructed by: Agnes Davidson & Zhouqin Burnikel

Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Frame Job

Themed answers each end with an item that might be used in a FRAMING JOB:

• 36D Scapegoating scheme, or what the ends of the answers to the starred clues may be part of? : FRAME JOB

• 16A *Statistical measure of certainty : CONFIDENCE LEVEL
• 22D *Earlobe sparkler : DIAMOND STUD
• 23D *Fashion accessory attached at a salon : ACRYLIC NAIL
• 33D *”U Can’t Touch This” rapper : MC HAMMER

Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers

Bill’s time: 5m 06s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

9A Pt. of LLC : LTD

A limited liability company (LLC) has a structure that limits the liability of the owner or owners. It is a hybrid structure in the sense that it can be taxed as would an individual or partnership, while also maintaining the liability protection afforded to a corporation.

14A Sci-fi author Asimov : ISAAC

Isaac Asimov was a wonderful science fiction writer, and a professor of biochemistry. He was a favorite author as I was growing up and I must admit that some hero worship on my part led me to study and work as a biochemist for a short while early in my career. My favorite of his works is the collection of short stories called “I, Robot”, although Asimov’s most famous work is probably his “Foundation” trilogy of novels. Asimov wrote three autobiographies, the last of which was called “I, Asimov”, which was published in 1994, two years after his death.

16A *Statistical measure of certainty : CONFIDENCE LEVEL

In the world of statistics, I find the concept of “confidence level” tricky to understand, or maybe a little deceptive. We often assume a “95% confidence level” means we are 95% sure a specific answer is right. It actually doesn’t. It refers to the reliability of the process, not the result. I think of it like a factory making lie detectors where 95 out of 100 work perfectly. If we buy one detector, the 95% stat describes the factory’s quality control, not our specific device. Our device is either one of the good ones (100% accurate) or one of the bad ones (0% accurate). The “confidence” is in the brand, not the specific detector. And, I have a headache …

19A “Yum Yum Bedlam” rap duo __ Clown Posse : INSANE

Insane Clown Posse (often just “ICP”) is Detroit-based hip hop duo comprising Joseph Bruce, aka Violent J, and Joseph Utsler, aka Shaggy 2 Dope. Here’s something unusual for a professional music duo: Bruce and Utsler also use the name Insane Clown Posse when they perform as professional wrestlers!

23A Calgary’s province : ALBERTA

Calgary, the largest city in the Canadian province of Alberta, is named for Calgary on the Isle of Mull in Scotland.

25A Air pressure fig. : PSI

Pounds per square inch (PSI) is a measure of pressure.

34A Mother’s Day month : MAY

Note the official punctuation in “Mother’s Day”, even though one might think it should be “Mothers’ Day”. President Wilson and Anna Jarvis, who created the tradition, specifically wanted Mother’s Day to honor the mothers within each family and not just “mothers” in general, so they went with the “Mother’s Day” punctuation.

39A Marine mammal feared by sharks : ORCA

Despite the nickname “killer whale”, the orca is the largest member of the dolphin family. Orcas are apex predators, and are the only known natural threat to great white sharks.

40A Turnpike charges : TOLLS

Back in the 15th century, a turnpike (tpk., tpke.) was a defensive barrier across a road. By the 17th century the term was used for a barrier that stopped travelers until a toll was paid. By the 18th century a turnpike was the name given to a road with a toll.

47A Grammy, for one : AWARD

The first Grammy Awards ceremony was held in 1959 and focused on recognizing outstanding achievement in the recording industry. The idea of a Grammy Award came up when recording executives were working on the Hollywood Walk of Fame project in the fifties. These executives concluded that there were many people in the recording industry deserving of accolades but who would probably never make it to the Walk of Fame. As a result, they founded the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. The Academy considered naming the award the “Eddies” after Thomas Edison, but then opted for “Grammy” after Edison’s invention: the gramophone.

53A __ Antonio Spurs : SAN

The Spurs are a professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. The team was founded as the Dallas Chaparrals of the American Basketball Association (ABA) in 1967.

55A “Will __”: ABC police drama starring Ramón Rodríguez : TRENT

“Will Trent” is a cop show that debuted in 2023. It is based on a series of novels of the same name by Karin Slaughter. Ramón Rodríguez plays the title character in the TV show, a special agent in the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

58A Italy’s capital : ROME

According to tradition, Rome was founded by the twin brothers Romulus and Remus. The pair had a heated argument about who should be allowed to name the city and Romulus hit Remus with a shovel, killing him. And so, “Rome” was born, perhaps instead of “Reme”!

59A Rib-eye, for one : STEAK

If you’re in Australia or New Zealand and looking for a rib eye steak, you’ll need to order a “Scotch fillet”.

65A The red planet : MARS

The surface of the planet Mars has a very high iron oxide content, so Mars is red because it is rusty …

67A Site with bidding wars : EBAY

eBay was founded in 1995 as AuctionWeb. One of the first items purchased was a broken laser pointer, for $14.83. The buyer was a collector of broken laser pointers …

Down

4D Fertile Crescent’s region : MIDEAST

The Fertile Crescent is a large swath of land in the Near East that includes the Nile Valley in the west and the land around the Tigris and Euphrates in the east.

6D PC-to-PC hookup : LAN

You may have a Local Area Network (LAN) in your house. If you’ve got a PC and a router or switch, likely attached to some modem, then you have a LAN.

7D Tic-__-toe : TAC

When I was growing up in Ireland we played “noughts and crosses” … our name for the game tic-tac-toe.

8D Cool tone on a palette : ICE BLUE

A palette is a board on which an artist holds and mixes paints. A classical palette is oval in shape, and has a thumbhole and an insert for brushes. Not every artist uses a classical palette. For example, Picasso used a sheet of newspaper.

9D Romeo and Juliet, e.g. : LOVERS

William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” is all about the love between the two title characters, which is forbidden as the pair come from two families who are sworn enemies. Early in the play, Romeo (a Montague) sneaks into a masquerade ball being held by the Capulets in the hope of meeting a Capulet girl named Rosaline. Instead, he meets and falls for Juliet, also a Capulet. Tragedy ensues …

11D Triangular river formations : DELTAS

A river delta is a triangular landform at the mouth of a river created by the deposition of sediment. The use of the term “delta” in this context comes from the triangular shape of the Greek letter delta. The Nile Delta in Northern Egypt is one of the world’s largest river deltas, and covers 150 miles of coastline on the Mediterranean. The most famous “delta” in the United States isn’t actually a delta at all. The Mississippi Delta is an alluvial plain that lies 300 miles north of the river’s actual delta, yet it is known as the “Mississippi River Delta”. Very confusing …

13D Nonstick cookware brand : T-FAL

Tefal (also “T-Fal”) is a French manufacturer of cookware that is famous for its nonstick line. The name “Tefal” is a portmanteau of TEFlon and ALuminum, the key materials used in producing their pots and pans.

18D Most October babies : LIBRAS

The constellation of Libra is named for the scales held by the goddess of justice. Libra is the only sign of the zodiac that isn’t named for a living creature.

33D *”U Can’t Touch This” rapper : MC HAMMER

“U Can’t Touch This” is the signature song of rapper MC Hammer, released in 1990 from his album “Please Hammer, Don’t Hurt ‘Em”. It topped charts worldwide, and is still a widely celebrated anthem of confidence and untouchable status.

36D Scapegoating scheme, or what the ends of the answers to the starred clues may be part of? : FRAME JOB

A scapegoat is a person chosen to take the blame in place of others. The term comes from the Bible’s Book of Leviticus, which describes a goat that was cast into the desert along with the sins of the community.

37D Ceiling metal : TIN

As the name implies, a tin ceiling is a ceiling finished with sections of tinplate. The sections usually have a design pressed into them.

41D Sketch show that inspired “30 Rock,” for short : SNL

“30 Rock” is a sitcom on NBC that was created by the show’s star Tina Fey. Fey plays an ex-performer and writer from “Saturday Night Live” (SNL) and uses her experiences on that show as a basis for the “30 Rock” storyline. Fey plays Liz Lemon, the head writer for the fictional sketch comedy series “TGS with Tracy Jordan”.

51D Shuttle on rails : TRAM

Trams were a common form of transport in London starting with horse-drawn versions in 1860. They were gradually replaced by diesel buses after WWII, with the last tram running in 1952. Even though trams disappeared in the early fifties, many of the rails that carried the trams remained in some streets for many years afterwards (I remember them well, as a child). A new generation of tram, a so-called light-rail system, was introduced in London in 2000.

52D Corn Belt state : IOWA

The Corn Belt (sometimes “Grain Belt”) is a region in the Midwest where, since the mid-1800s, corn has been the major crop. Geographically, the Corn Belt covers Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and parts of Michigan, Ohio, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota and Missouri. About 40% of the world’s corn production comes from the region, and most of that production is used for the feeding of livestock.

57D “Iliad” city : TROY

The ancient city of Troy was located on the west coast of modern-day Turkey. The Trojan War of Greek mythology was precipitated by the elopement of Helen, the wife of the king of Sparta, with Paris of Troy. The war itself largely consisted of a nine-year siege of Troy by the Greeks. We know most about the final year of that siege, as it is described extensively in Homer’s “Iliad”. The city eventually fell when the Greeks hid soldiers inside the Trojan Horse, which the Trojans brought inside the city’s walls. Beware of Greeks bearing gifts …

60D Some UFC victories : KOS

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is the largest promoter in the world of mixed martial arts competitions. I think the idea is that competitors fight each other in various disciplines to see who is the “best of the best” …