THEME: none, but four triples and a cross in the middle
GOOD ONES: Singer's better half? SIDE A
Women's issue, familiarly O MAGAZINE [remember when everything wasn't an issue but a problem or situation or dilemma?]
Soprano group MOB [I thought women --- not at The Bing!]
Status chaser? QUO
BTW: Loved the centuries apart grid connection: Informer = STOOLIE; Get going = HIE
Game attendees CROWD [In England, maybe. In America, CROWD is a collective noun (singular): "The crowd
is noisy." So the clue should properly be "Game attendance" or "Attendance at the game."
It isn't every constructor who builds his name into a puzzle, and at 1-Across while putting a symbol of his name in the center of the grid!
RATING:
Three grins = Loved it; Two grins = Enjoyed it; One grin = A bit bland for my taste; One teardrop = Not much fun