Great piece of trivia, that TINA TURNER, STEVIE NICKS, and CAROLE KING are the solely three girls to be inducted into the ROCK AND ROLL / HALL OF FAME each as a part of teams and as soloists.

What fortune that the 5 theme solutions adhere to crossword symmetry! Yes, ROCK AND ROLL / HALL OF FAME does have to be break up, nevertheless it divides at a pure break. It would have been a lot much less elegant if Cruciverba, the goddess of crosswords, had compelled one thing like ROCK AND / ROLL HALL / OF FAME.

The grid is as open as a 72-word themeless (75 phrases, however 16×15 as a substitute of standard 15×15), which is an extremely tough building given 5 themers. There’s lots to like: BASS NOTES is a enjoyable echo to the theme, ITALIANATE will get an attention-grabbing clue about English structure, and JANE ADDAMS will get her due as the primary American lady to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Fun use of 7-letter slots in AD ASTRA, BERNESE mountain canine, and LEONINE, too.

Themes specializing in names can are usually onerous for some solvers, and all the opposite correct nouns — JANE ADDAMS, BENNETT, OBISPO, MOORES LAW, NANAIMO, ABRAHAM, KOMEN, and many others. — felt overwhelming. I prefer it when constructors push the envelope, however on this case, I’d have most well-liked fill that higher matched the extent of theme problem — maybe a 77 and even 79-word grid, that includes solely 4 unimaginable bonuses.

It would have been nice to have ROCK AND ROLL shifted to the left, and HALL OF FAME to the precise, to have the complete phrase learn collectively extra strongly. Overall although, I loved the debut providing that honored this trio of groundbreaking girls.