[magus]

               Another covert theme ---  poor, fair, good, great (and best?).  Why not place RATE or GRADE clued to the theme entries to tie the theme words and to provide a clue to the solver that a theme exists?

If Monday puzzles must be simple, why include BENIN?  Most solvers would, I bet, be fortunate to find Nigeria on a map.  Those who heard of Benin would be rarer still.  LENIN or the tougher RENIN would fit easily, and ALS with LENIN or ARS with RENIN would be simple enough.

And even if the clues have to be easy, "1/12 of a foot" for INCH seems below the pale.  Does easy have to be dull?