Adrian Kabigting author page
1 puzzle by Adrian Kabigting
with Jeff Chen comments
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This bball fan had an easy pick for standout clue/entry pair. NBA REFEREE is a great entry, especially with its baffling NBAR- beginning. Riffing on "travel authority" makes it dazzle right up there with James Harden, Jason Kidd, and Magic Johnson. We all look the other way when it comes to NBA REFEREEs looking the other way when the Beard travels. Ahem.
Neat clue for MEYER LEMON, too. I love the scent of MEYER LEMONs growing on our back deck, and it was fascinating to learn that they come from China. Bonus points for anyone who can come up with a great Asian nickname for this fruit. (As brilliant as "Kung flu," but perhaps a touch less … evil.)
I'm usually not one for names in my crossword, but KAMEHAMEHA is an interesting case. I struggled with it at first, then realized that as a Hawaiian, his name would likely draw from the Hawaiian alphabet. Neat click as I was able to narrow down the options for all the letters to only A E I O U and H K L M N P W. Also reminded me of a memorable puzzle based on the Hawaiian alphabet.
70-word themelesses go up against stiff competition these days; Will Shortz's inbox flooded with them. I enjoyed much of this solid debut, but it's difficult to achieve standout sparkle when you're only working with 10 long slots (of 8+ letters). Some of the mid-length material did help to prop up the pizzazz, QUIBBLE's rare Q, THE BEAN, and SCREW IT all colorful.