Solution: Nervous witnesses in mystery novels, often - NYT Crossword

This is such a terrific entry for a crossword; its use has dropped off significantly in recent years, but constructors clued it more simply and often in the 1950s through ’90s. The crime genre often throws in a “nervous witness” to draw an audience’s suspicions and attention away from the real villain, something called a RED HERRING. I always think of the swells of violins in “Psycho” that often wound up signifying nothing.