Constructor: Joel D. Lafargue
Relative difficulty: DOOK
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THEME: THE BEE GEES (60A: Trio whose members start 17-, 26- and 44-Across) — theme answers all share the first names of the brothers GIBB (66A: Last name of 60-Across):
Theme answers:
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The theme is a non-starter. It's a non-theme. There is nothing happening. It's so literal, so weirdly untricky, that I half-suspect I'm on Candid Camera. Or, in slightly more modern parlance, that I'm being Punk'd. The gratuitous, extra, doesn't-have-a-symmetrical-partner GIBB is just the unasked-for cherry on an otherwise unadorned sundae. I'm at a loss. There's no word play. There's no play at all. There's no twist. There's nothing. Yes, those are the names of the brothers, and those names are not uncommon. Other people have those names. Some of those people are famous. Who cares? One of them sings; that's kind of a connection. Kind of. But. But. There's just nothing here. No revelation. I can't remember seeing a theme this rudimentary in forever. How in the world does this theme "tickle" anyone? A bunch of two-word phrases where the first word started with "B" and the second word started with "G"—*that*, while not earth-shattering, would've made Sooooooo […] ooooo much more sense. BILL GATES! BUDDY GUY! BETTY GRABLE! But this. This. What is this?
The fill is EDUCE-A-MINT. It is what it is. HI-DE-HI.
Relative difficulty: DOOK
THEME: THE BEE GEES (60A: Trio whose members start 17-, 26- and 44-Across) — theme answers all share the first names of the brothers GIBB (66A: Last name of 60-Across):
Theme answers:
- BARRY WHITE (17A: R&B singer backed by the Love Unlimited Orchestra)
- ROBIN WILLIAMS (26A: Late comic genius)
- MAURICE SENDAK (44A: Children's author/illustrator with a National Medal of Arts)
Jane Addams (September 6, 1860 – May 21, 1935) was a pioneer American settlementsocial worker, public philosopher, sociologist, author, and leader in women's suffrage and world peace. In an era when presidents such as Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilsonidentified themselves as reformers and social activists, Addams was one of the most prominent reformers of the Progressive Era. She helped turn America to issues of concern to mothers, such as the needs of children, local public health, and world peace. She said that if women were to be responsible for cleaning up their communities and making them better places to live, they needed the vote to be effective in doing so. Addams became a role model for middle-class women who volunteered to uplift their communities. She is increasingly being recognized as a member of the American pragmatist school of philosophy. In 1931 she became the first American woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and is recognized as the founder of the social work profession in the United States. (wikipedia)
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The fill is EDUCE-A-MINT. It is what it is. HI-DE-HI.