Philip K. Chow author page
1 puzzle by Philip K. Chow
with Jeff Chen comments
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★ What do GOLDEN EAGLE, RATTLESNAKE, and PRICKLY PEAR have in common? They're all on the MEXICAN FLAG? What a delightful discovery! This is an instance where I'm ecstatic to be stumped at "Name That Theme." Now that's an A+ a-ha moment.
All four themers being exactly 11 letters, how fortuitous! Perhaps Crucivera, the Greek goddess of crosswords, has a Latin(a) counterpart.
I appreciated the other touches echoing the MEXICAN FLAG, too: PINATAS — with an awesome misdirection clue, [They get smashed at parties] — and SIESTA. It's rarely easy to work in mid-length material that reinforces theme without muddying it up. Philip's efforts here are a big success.
I did hesitate before giving this the POW!, since AWN and ALEE are entries called out on editors' spec sheets. They're the glue types that I often hear newer solvers complain about, giving them a reason to ditch the crossword and do something else.
I'd also have liked fewer 3-letter words — Rich Norris over at the LAT rarely allows constructors to go over 20 since these shorties can make a solve feel choppy. I'd have asked if Philip could take out the block between AWN and ERE while upping the smoothness factor. I'm not 100% sure it's possible, especially without losing the color of BOHEMIA and BASE HITS, but it'd be worth the effort.
Memorable debut!