Monday, January 19, 2026, Agnes Davidson, Zhouqin Burnikel

Theme:  We've been framed! 

Who are the masterminds behind this scheme?  None other than our blogmistress, Zhouquin "C.C." Burnikel, and our commenter extraordinaire, Agnes "Irish Miss" Davidson.  How did they frame us?  Let us count the ways, beginning with the big reveal:

36-Down. Scapegoating scheme, or what the ends of the answers to the starred clues may be part of?: FRAME JOB.  A scapegoating scheme blames an innocent person for the wrongdoings of others.  Similarly, a FRAME JOB arranges evidence to point to an innocent person as the one responsible for a crime.  Why would Irish Miss and C.C. do this to us?  The good news is, they didn't.  They just hung a framed picture on the wall for our enjoyment, and scattered their tools around the grid.

16-Across. *Statistical measure of certainty: CONFIDENCE LEVEL.  A LEVEL is a handy tool for making sure a framed picture hangs straight on the wall.

CONFIDENCE LEVEL       and       LEVEL TOOL

22-Down. *Earlobe sparkler: DIAMOND STUD.  A STUD is a vertical wood beam that is part of the substructure of a wall.  If the framed picture is heavy, it's a good idea to attach one of the picture hangers to a stud in the wall.

DIAMOND STUD   and   WALL STUDS

23-Down. *Fashion accessory attached at a salon: ACRYLIC NAIL.  A NAIL is essential to fasten a picture hanger to a wall.

ACRYLIC NAILS   and   NAIL FASTENERS

33-Down. *"U Can't Touch This" rapper: MC HAMMER.  A HAMMER is a handy tool for driving a nail into a wall.

MC HAMMER   and   HAMMER TOOL

This FRAME JOB turned out to be a satisfying task.  But "hang" on -- there's more to do.

Across:

1. Golf scorecard number: PAR.  PAR is the number of strokes that a proficient golfer should require to complete a hole, a round, or a tournament.

4. Prefix with task or vitamin: MULTI.

9. Pt. of LLC: LTD.  An LLC is a Limited Liability Company. A part (abbreviated "pt.") of this phrase is the word "Limited," abbreviated as LTD.

12. "Look __ this way ... ": AT IT.

14. Sci-fi author Asimov: ISAAC.  Isaac Asimov (1920-1992) was an American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. Considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke, he wrote or edited more than 500 books.

15. "The __ the merrier!": MORE.

16. [Theme clue]

19. "Yum Yum Bedlam" rap duo __ Clown Posse: INSANE.  Insane Clown Posse, often abbreviated as ICP, is an American hip hop duo formed in Detroit in 1989.  Thank you, perpendicular entries.

Insane Clown Posse

20. Try to chomp on: BITE AT.

21. Experience grief: FEEL SAD.

23. Calgary's province: ALBERTA.  It's only fair to have the occasional gimme for our friend CanadianEh!

24. NFL distances: Abbr.: YDS.  NFL is an abbreviation for National Football League.  YDS is an abbreviation for yards.  Although American football is largely incomprehensible to this blogger, it's clearly an outlet for tribal instincts, where the capture of territory is measured in yards.

25. Air pressure fig.: PSI.  Pounds per Square Inch.  By now, you've noticed that an abbreviation in the clue calls for an abbreviation in the answer.

26. Nasty mutt: CUR.

Bad dogs have had bad experiences.
They can be helped, but some people create this behavior on purpose.

27. Method: Abbr.: SYS.  System.

28. Lucked out at last: GOT A BREAK.

31. Entice: TEMPT.

34. Mother's Day month: MAY.

35. Sorts (through): SIFTS.

39. Marine mammal feared by sharks: ORCA.  Orcas (AKA killer whales) are fearsome creatures.

40. Turnpike charges: TOLLS.

42. Sound from a leaky tap: DRIP.

43. "Hard pass": NAH.

44. Mark left by a swimsuit: TAN LINE.

Tan lines left by various recreational outfits.

46. "__ questions?": ANY.

47. Grammy, for one: AWARD.

49. Insurance case: CLAIM.

51. Like most races: TIMED.

53. __ Antonio Spurs: SAN.  A professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas, the Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

55. "Will __": ABC police drama starring Ramón Rodríguez: TRENT.  Will Trent is a police procedural TV series based on novels by Karin Slaughter.  The series, starring Ramón Rodríguez in the title role, premiered on January 3, 2023, on ABC, and was renewed for a fourth season which premiered on January 6, 2026.

Ramón Rodríguez as Will Trent.  Cute dog!

58. Italy's capital: ROME.

59. Rib-eye, for one: STEAK.

61. Not quite closed: AJAR.

62. Blown away: AWED.  Blown away, as in very impressed.

63. Collectible trinket: CURIO.

64. Chore list heading: TO DO.

65. The red planet: MARS.

66. Adored stars: IDOLS.

67. Site with bidding wars: EBAY.  When you shop for a CURIO on EBAY, it's very easy to get caught up in a bidding war.

Down:

1. Soothe, as a fussy baby: PACIFY.  Our young folks went to the hospital thinking they would not use a pacifier for their baby.  The hospital staff supplied this model, and our grandson has been happily sucking on one ever since:

2. Did penance (for): ATONED.

3. Washes the suds off: RINSES.

4. Fertile Crescent's region: MIDEAST.  The Fertile Crescent is a region in the Middle East, spanning modern-day Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria, together with northern Kuwait, south-eastern Turkey, and western Iran.  It is believed to be the first region where farming emerged as people began to clear natural vegetation to grow domesticated plants as crops.  Alas, modern irrigation projects have drained the marshes and made the Crescent much less fertile.

Map of the Fertile Crescent

5. Bring into play: USE.

6. PC-to-PC hookup: LAN.  A Local Area Network is a collection of devices connected together in one physical location, such as a building, office, or home.  The LAN is made up of cables, access points, switches, routers, and other components that enable devices to connect to internal servers, web servers, and other LANs.  I'm glad our business has a "techspert" to manage the LAN!

7. Tic-__-toe: TAC.

8. Cool tone on a palette: ICE BLUE.

9. Romeo and Juliet, e.g.: LOVERS.

10. Goal of a peace summit, perhaps: TREATY.

11. Triangular river formations: DELTAS.  A river delta is a landform, typically triangular, created by the deposit of sediments carried by the waters of a river, where the river merges into a body of slower-moving water such as an ocean, a sea, a lake, or a reservoir -- in other words, at the river mouth.

The Nile river delta as seen from a satellite.

13. Nonstick cookware brand: T-FAL.  T-Fal is a popular brand of nonstick cookware.  DH and I recently gave up on nonstick and opted for good, old-fashioned stainless steel pots and pans.

15. Ration (out): METE.

17. Cool place to hang: IN SPOT.

I'm in with the in crowd, I go where the in crowd goes ...

18. Most October babies: LIBRAS.

22. [Theme clue]

23. [Theme clue]

28. Academic transcript no.: GPA.  Grade Point Average.  "No." is an abbreviation, so you know the answer will also be an abbreviation.

29. Masquerade event: BALL.

30. Baby goat: KID.

And they both say maa!

31. Freight weight: TON.

32. Period of history: ERA.

33. [Theme clue]

36. [Theme reveal]

37. Ceiling metal: TIN.  Tin ceilings are decorated with tin tiles that have designs pressed into them.  This architectural detail was popular in North America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and was used as an affordable alternative to the beautiful plasterwork used in European homes.

Tin ceiling with tiles from Penn Metal Ceiling Company's 1896 catalog.

38. Undercover agent: SPY.

40. Roofing goo: TAR.

41. Sketch show that inspired "30 Rock," for short: SNL.  Saturday Night Live.

44. Small amount: TAD.

45. Gulp down: EAT.

48. Garden invaders: WEEDS.  Weeds are wild plants growing where they are not wanted, and in competition with cultivated plants.  Always a problem for me after winter rains in Los Angeles.

I have an urge to kill the spurge.
Spotted spurge, that is.  (Euphorbia maculata.)

50. Hot under the collar: IRATE.

51. Shuttle on rails: TRAM.

52. Corn Belt state: IOWA.

A corn belt I'd like to see.

54. Prefix with dynamic: AERO.

56. Zilch: NADA.

57. "Iliad" city: TROY.  Homer's Iliad is an epic poem that tells the story of the Trojan War, in which Greek armies beseiged the city of Troy after Paris, son of the Trojan king, and Helen, wife of the Greek king Menelaus, ran off together.  What a lot of trouble those LOVERS caused!  

The fall of Troy came when Greeks entered the city hidden inside a wooden horse.
That story appears in Homer's Odyssey.

59. Physics or chem: SCI.  Science.

60. Some UFC victories: KOS.  Ultimate Fighting Championship (mixed martial arts) victories can be knockouts.

Here's the finished grid:

Solvers, did you work AT IT until you GOT A BREAK?

Did you USE a computer interface where your solving was TIMED?

Can you CLAIM an AWARD for your best solving time ever?

Or did you get NADA and FEEL SAD or even IRATE?

That's a TON of questions.  MAY we hear from you in the comments?

-- NaomiZ