January 3, 2026

Title: TWISTED METAL

Constructor: Brian Callahan

Editor: Amie Walker

Theme synopsis:

• NO PROBLEM AT ALL (18A: "Easy-peasy!")
• HAPPY MEAL TOYS (35A: Teenie Beanies at McDonald's, e.g.)
• SORRY I'M LATE (51A: "Ack! Didn't realize the meeting started five minutes ago!")

TWISTED METAL: Each theme answer contains an anagram of the word METAL: NO PROBLEM AT ALL, HAPPY MEAL TOYS, and SORRY I'M LATE.

And now a word from our constructor:

Brian: The puzzle’s title and mechanic comes from the classic Playstation game “Twisted Metal,” which I remember playing as a kid at the local Pizza King restaurant in Lafayette, Indiana. It was probably around that same time that I was collecting Teenie Beanies HAPPY MEAL TOYS at McDonalds, watching SID on TV’s “Hey Arnold!,” and cuddling with our family's PET CAT, Little. Hope some of the Millennial nostalgia brought joy to your solve!

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• PAM (30A: "NFL on Fox" sideline reporter ___ Oliver) PAM Oliver has been an NFL sideline reporter for Fox Sports for over thirty years. In 2025, PAM Oliver was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame as a "trailblazer in the sports media landscape."

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• NASA (4A: Artemis I org.) The long term goal of NASA's Artemis program is to establish a sustainable presence on the Moon and, ultimately, send humans to Mars. The first mission, Artemis I, was an uncrewed test flight in 2022 that successfully launched an Orion spacecraft into lunar orbit for six days. Artemis II is tentatively planned for a launch this year. It will be a crewed mission that will orbit the moon.
• HAMS (8A: Steamed ___ (burger nickname in a classic "The Simpsons" episode)) I was quite excited to know the answer to this clue! Although I don't watch The Simpsons, I learned about the burger nickname "steamed HAMS" from the December 22, 2025 puzzle. That puzzle – also by today's constructor in collaboration with Amie Walker – featured the answer ALBANY clued as [City in upstate New York that calls hamburgers "steamed hams," per Principal Skinner].
• NEPAL (14A: Country that celebrates Tihar) Tihar is a five-day Hindu festival celebrated in NEPAL. During the festival, diyas (oil lamps made from clay) are lit throughout the home and outside. I learned about Tihar from the November 21, 2021 puzzle.
• SELA (20A: "Once and Again" star Ward) Once and Again is a TV series that originally aired from 1999 to 2002. SELA Ward portrays single mother Lily Manning. SELA Ward won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for this role.
• NERD (22A: Word ___ (rhyming term for a crossword enthusiast)) Oh look, it's me! And if you're reading this, it's probably you, too. Let's hear it for the word NERDs.
• DENTED (24A: Made an impression?) The question mark here alerts solvers to expect wordplay. The clue is not using "made an impression" in the metaphorical sense, but in the literal sense.
• MAA (28A: Goat's bleat) As I've mentioned before, in the world of crosswords, goats say "MAA!" and sheep say "Baa!" In real life, the sounds these animals make are a bit less clear cut.
• HAPPY MEAL TOYS (35A: Teenie Beanies at McDonald's, e.g.) Teenie Beanies are miniature versions of Beanie Babies (stuffed toys manufactured by Ty). McDonalds featured Teenie Beanies as HAPPY MEAL TOYS from 1997 to 2000.
• DEKE (42A: Hockey player's fake-out) I am always happy to see the hockey fake-out DEKE in the puzzle. This may surprise you, as I am not much of a sports person, and in fact,  (almost) everything I know about sports I learned from crossword puzzles. DEKE is no exception. I learned about DEKE in my first month of blogging, from the July 3, 2020 puzzle. Some things that I learn from crosswords slip away from me, but for some reason DEKE has stuck with me (probably because it pops up in puzzles every now and then), and it reminds me of the joy of learning new things by solving crosswords.
• GAY (61A: "Be ___, Do Crime: Sixteen Stories of Queer Chaos") Be GAY, Do Crime: Sixteen Stories of Queer Chaos (2025) is a book of short stories edited by Molly Lewellyn and Kristel Buckley. Each story is written by a queer author and features GAY characters (committing crimes, as you might expect from the title). The title is inspired but the catchphrase used by some LGBTQIA+ activists, "Be GAY, Do Crime." I have previously written about this phrase.
• PELE (63A: One-named soccer star) PELÉ (1940-2022) is considered one of the greatest soccer players of all time. During his career, PELÉ averaged a goal per game.
• AXEL (5D: On-ice leap for Nathan Chen) Nathan Chen is a professional figure skater. He began skating in 2003 at the age of three, part of an increased interest in figure skating in his hometown of Salt Lake City, Utah after the city hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics. Nathan Chen represented Team USA at the 2022 Winter Olympics and won a gold medal for his individual performance. The other day some of my crossword friends (definitely word NERDs) had a discussion about how to remember the difference between the spellings of AXEL (the ice skating jump) and axle (the rod connecting tires). This is definitely something I struggle with whenever I have to fill in this answer in a puzzle. One of my friends noted that she remembers it because the blade of an ice skate is like an "axe" – so the ice skating maneuver is "axe" plus "l." This is helpful and I definitely thought of this while filling in this answer.
• HE-MAN (8D: "___ & She-Ra: A Christmas Special") HE-MAN and She-Ra are characters in Mattel's Masters of the Universefranchise. The superheroes have appeared separately and together in various TV series, video games, comic strips, books, and movies, including the 1985 animated Christmas TV special, HE-MAN & She-Ra: A Christmas Special.
• MALL RATS (10D: Hot Topic regulars, perhaps) The first Hot Topic store opened in Montclair, California in 1989. The store's merchandise caters to various segments of pop culture. Most Hot Topic stores are located in MALLs, making this a fun way to clue MALL RATS.
• SLY (11D: Crafty) The word SLY is making back-to-back puzzle appearances. We saw it yesterday clued as [___ as a fox].
• TAO (13D: "___ Te Ching") The TAO Te Ching is a fundamental text for Taoism. The oldest excavated portion of the TAO Te Ching dates back to the 4th century BCE.
• TRANSPOSE (16D: Use a capo, say) A capo is a device that's attached to the neck of a stringed instrument such as a ukulele, guitar, or banjo. A capo can be used to TRANSPOSE a piece of music, as it shortens the length of the playable strings, thus raising the pitch.
• ENYA (26D: "Orinoco Flow" singer) I recommend taking a few minutes of your day to listen to ENYA's 1988 song, "Orinoco Flow." It's a good addition to any day, in my opinion.
• RENEE RAPP (32D: She played Regina George in 2024's "Mean Girls") Singer RENEÉ RAPP starred on Broadway as Regina George in the musical Mean Girls. She reprised the role in the 2024 Mean Girls movie (the version of the movie based on the musical). 
• ORANGE (44D: Like some tabbies) and PET CAT (45D: Tabby, perhaps) My PET CAT, Willow, really likes how 2026 is starting off with CAT references in the puzzle for the first three days. She would like constructors to keep the CAT references coming! Here's a photo of Brian's family's PET CAT, Little, whom he mentioned in his constructor's notes. Brian says this photo was taken around 2004, when Little was "helping" their family pack during a move. Their dog, Scout, can be seen supervising in the background.

Little

• IOWA (48D: Caitlin Clark's college) Hello from IOWA! Happy to see a shout-out to one of my alma maters, the University of IOWA, located in IOWA City, IOWA. A fellow alum of IOWA – who is much more famous than me! – is WNBA Indiana Fever player Caitlin Clark. While at IOWA, Caitlin Clark became the NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer. Now this is some sports knowledge that I learned not from crosswords, but because I live in IOWA City.
• YULE (52D: ___ goat (Nordic Christmas symbol)) The YULE goat is a traditional Nordic Christmas symbol. Most current YULE goat representations are made out of straw. The origins of the YULE goat are unclear, but it may have been derived from stories of the Norse god Thor riding a chariot pulled by two goats.
• SID (54D: Beatle boots-wearing kid on "Hey Arnold!") Hey Arnold! (1996-2004) is an animated TV series about a fourth grader named Arnold who lives with his grandparents. SID is Arnold's friend who wears a green baseball cap (backwards), a black leather jacket, jeans, and a pair of white Beatle boots (a style of ankle-high boots popularized by the Beatles).
• A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
• WHAT A WEEK (15A: "T.G.I.F.!")
• AUDIENCE (58A: Group that claps when the "Applause" sign lights up)
• YAWNS (1D: Takes a deep breath, in a way)

As Brian mentioned in his notes, TWISTED METAL is a video game franchise. The first game in the series was released in 1995 for PlayStation and Windows. The TV series TWISTED METAL (2023-present) is based on the video game franchise. The word TWISTED in today's title is serving as an anagram indicator. The letters in the word METAL are "TWISTED" into a new arrangement and then hidden in each theme answer. Thank you, Brian, for this enjoyable puzzle.