January 20, 2026

Title: ONE WEIRD TRICK

Constructor: Amie Walker

Editor: Amie Walker

Theme synopsis:

• WRECK-IT RALPH (19A: John C. Reilly Disney movie set inside an arcade)
• MOCK TRIAL (36A: College-level competition with opening statements)
• OUTDOOR KITCHEN (55A: Alfresco cooking space)

ONE WEIRD TRICK: Each theme answer contains an anagram of the word TRICK: WRECK-IT RALPH, MOCK TRIAL, and OUTDOOR KITCHEN.

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• PAT (4A: "The ___ Dubek Show") This clue is a reference to the TV series The Other Two (2021-2023), which follows two millennial siblings whose 13-year-old brother experiences overnight fame after a video of his goes viral. I learned about this show from the October 26, 2025 puzzle when we saw PAT clued as [___ Dubek (Molly Shannon's role on "The Other Two")). Did I remember that knowledge when I read this clue? No, no I did not. On The Other Two, Molly Shannon's character, PAT Dubek is the mother of the siblings the show's stories are centered on. At the end of the first season, she becomes the host of her own daytime talk show, The PAT Dubek Show.
• AUTHOR (24A: Marisha Pessl, for the novel "Darkly") Darkly, published in 2024, is AUTHOR Marisha Pessl's fourth published novel. The thriller takes place in the world of game-making. Although Marisha Pessl is a new AUTHOR to me, the answer was fairly inferable.
• EMO (29D: The "it" of "It's not a phase," perhaps) Apparently "It's not a phase" is a phrase sometimes said by those who listen to EMO music. Now I know.
• CUOCO (37D: "The Big Bang Theory" star Kaley) The Big Bang Theory is a TV sitcom that originally aired from 2007 to 2019. Kaley CUOCO portrays Penny, an aspiring actress who later becomes a pharmaceutical sales representative.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• ORCAS (16A: Marine apex predators) Apex predators are animals at the top of a food chain. In the ocean, ORCAS do not have natural predators, making them apex predators.
• WRECK-IT RALPH (19A: John C. Reilly Disney movie set inside an arcade) In the 2012 animated movie WRECK-IT RALPH, the title character (voiced by John C. Reilly) is the villain of the fictional arcade game Fix-It Felix Jr. Unhappy with being the villain, RALPH sneaks off from his game into another game. Adventures ensue.
• RACES (28A: Mario Kart contests) and PACE LAP (2D: Daytona driver's warmup) I thought it was fun that the video game RACES of Mario Kart cross the real-life PACE LAP of the Daytona International Speedway.
• UNO (31A: ___ Attack Jurassic World (card game)) There are so many different variations of the card game UNO. UNO Attack Jurassic World was introduced in 2018. It features a dinosaur-shaped holder for the deck of cards that launches cards and makes funny sounds.
• PAM (32A: "The L Word" actor Grier) PAM Grier played Kate "Kit" Porter on the TV series The L Word (2004-2009). I have previously written about The L Word. 
• MOCK TRIAL (36A: College-level competition with opening statements) In MOCK TRIAL competitions, teams of students prepare both sides of a given case. Attorneys and witnesses are portrayed by the team's members. At the college level in the U.S., MOCK TRIAL is governed by the American MOCK TRIAL Association.
• URLS (42A: Tab hoarder's collection) It took me a bit of time to figure out this clue. At first I was thinking about the discontinued soda, Tab, and then my mind went to pop tabs. Finally I realized the clue was referring to all the tabs I have open in my browser – all those URLS.
• ETTA (53A: Jazz singer Jones) Two days ago we saw ETTA clued as [Singer James or Jones]. Today jazz singer ETTA Jones (1928-2001) gets single billing.
• SPACE CAMP (3D: Program for aspiring astronauts) Several SPACE CAMP programs are offered by the U.S. SPACE & Rocket Center museum in Huntsville, Alabama. The museum is located near NASA's Marshall SPACE Flight Center. SPACE CAMP isn't just for kids; they have programs for adults as well.
• EIGHT (8D: Number of nights for Hanukkah) Hanukkah is a Jewish Festival also known as the Festival of Lights. Observed for EIGHT nights and days, Hanukkah commemorates a small flask of oil (enough to light a lamp for one night) keeping the Second Temple's Menorah alight for EIGHT days.
• ONE (26D: "You and I go from ___ kiss to getting married") "You and I go from ONE kiss to getting married" is a lyric from Taylor Swift's 2024 song "loml." The song is from the album The Tortured Poets Department.
• ATL (34D: Coca-Cola Company city, for short) Coca-Cola was invented in Atlanta (ATL), Georgia in 1886 by John Stith Pemberton. The Coca-Cola company is still headquartered in its city of origin. ATL is making back-to-back puzzle appearances. We saw it yesterday clued as [Georgia airport code].
• LEGO ART (40D: Displays made with toy bricks) Well darn, I should have saved the picture of the LEGO cat I shared a few days ago for today! Not to worry, I have other LEGO ART to share. Here's a photo of some LEGO plants; they don't need watered and they're always in bloom.

• BATHTUB (44D: Place for a flock of rubber ducks) I'm always happy to see rubber ducks mentioned. This clue makes me want to fill our BATHTUB with our collection of rubber duckies.
• CHI (47D: WNBA's Sky, on scoreboards) WNBA's Chicago Sky play their home basketball games at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois. The team was formed in 2006, and they were the 2021 WNBA Champions. 
• STEVE (50D: "The Office" star Carell) STEVE Carell portrays Michael Scott on the mockumentary The Office (2005-2013). 
• ARROW (51D: Projectile for Katniss Everdeen) Katniss Everdeen is the protagonist of The Hunger Games books written by Suzanne Collins. Katniss is a skilled archer.
• ANNE (54D: ___ Boleyn ("Six" queen)) ANNE Boleyn was the second of King Henry VIII's six wives. She was the Queen consort of England from 1533-1536. Six is a musical whose characters are the six wives of Henry VIII. The musical is a modern retelling, imagining the queens telling and reframing their story in the form of a singing competition to determine which of them had the worst experience being married to Henry VIII. This clue is timely for me, as my husband and I just saw Six (for the second time) on Sunday.
• OSLO (56D: Norway's capital) Our crossword friend OSLO is the capital of Norway. OSLO is making its second appearance of the year today.

If you see an ad or social media post with the phrase "ONE WEIRD TRICK," it's likely to be clickbait (words used to get you to click). No click bait in this puzzle though. The word WEIRD in today's title is serving as an anagram indicator. The letters of the word TRICK are rearranged (i.e. presented in a WEIRD way) in each theme answer. Thank you, Amie, for this interesting puzzle.