Theme: NN-ending Famous Names
17A: "Songcatcher" co-star: AIDAN QUINN
36A: Former Georgia Senator: SAM NUNN
56A: "Little Big Man" director: ARTHUR PENN
11D: "Death in Venice" author: THOMAS MANN
27D: Star of "Captain Blood": ERROL FLYNN
*ANN, *ENN, *INN, *UNN, *YNN, the only one missing is *ONN. I bet Wiseman searched hard for an *ONN ending famous name but came up with nothing. He did compensate this with BONN (6A: Beethoven's birthplace).
I've never heard of "Songcatcher", "Litttle Big Man" or "Captain Blood", but the theme answers were not difficult to obtain, given the easy crossings and self-evident theme.
I dislike the clue for SOWED (60A): Scattered (seeds) since SEED POD is the answer for 42D: Vanilla bean. Also, why "Vanilla bean" for SEED POD? I don't get it.
Across:
15A: Half of CXIV: LVII. Roman 57. I am so happy that I am not a Roman. I don't think I can calculate without first converting those Roman numerals into Arabic numbers first.
16A: Auto-racing org.: NHRA (National Hot Rod Association)
21A: Kern and Robbins: JEROMES. JEROME Kern composed "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes". JEROME Robbins won an Oscar for directing "West Side Story". I knew neither of them.
24A: Argentine port: PARANA. See this map. I've never heard of PARANA River/port. My wrong guess was MARANA.
33A: Municipal grp.: DPW (Department of Public Works)
38A: Islands of Indonesia: ARU. Here is ARU Islands again (lower right corner).
39A: NHL coach Bowman: SCOTTY. Wow, 11 Stanley Cups, very impressive. Too bad, his name means nothing to me.
45A: Some changes: CENTS
49A: Peace pipe: CALUMET. No idea. Dictionary says CALUMET is "a long-stemmed sacred or ceremonial tobacco pipe used by certain Native American peoples." Native Indians seem to love feathers for decorations.
51A: Bay of Alaska: PRUDHOE. Have never heard of PRUDHOE Bay. Easy inference though.
Down:
8D: Martial arts masters: NINJAS. It's rooted in Chinese 忍者. Nin is "endure". Ja is "person". I know the name, did not know that they are "Martial arts masters".
9D: SF gridder: NINER. Wikipedia says San Francisco 49ers have won 5 Super Bowls, and they "share the Super Bowl win record with the Dallas Cowboys and the Pittsburgh Steelers". For another 10 days?
12D: Art Deco artist: ERTE. "Symphony in Black" is probably ERTE's most famous image.
24D: Platte River valley people: PAWNEES. New word to me. Does PAWNEE have any special meaning in their own language? Can't be PAWN related.
25D: Canton folk: SWISS. Good clue. I was thinking of those folks I left behind in Canton (Guangzhou), China. Did anyone think of those football Hall-of-Famers in Canton, OH?
26D: Stupor: pref.: NARCO
37D: Ref's cohort: UMP. Look at this guy's impressive bobblehead collection. I wonder if he has a 1960' UMP nodder.
40D: Screes: TALUSES. I did not know the meaning of "Scree". Checked the dictionary and it explains "scree" as TALUS, broken rock debris at the base of a cliff.
44D: Gas in Glasgow: PETROL. Good alliteration.
52D: Shaped with an ax: HEWN
50D: First-class: A ONE. And ONE A (53D: SSS class)
C.C.
17A: "Songcatcher" co-star: AIDAN QUINN
36A: Former Georgia Senator: SAM NUNN
56A: "Little Big Man" director: ARTHUR PENN
11D: "Death in Venice" author: THOMAS MANN
27D: Star of "Captain Blood": ERROL FLYNN
*ANN, *ENN, *INN, *UNN, *YNN, the only one missing is *ONN. I bet Wiseman searched hard for an *ONN ending famous name but came up with nothing. He did compensate this with BONN (6A: Beethoven's birthplace).
I've never heard of "Songcatcher", "Litttle Big Man" or "Captain Blood", but the theme answers were not difficult to obtain, given the easy crossings and self-evident theme.
I dislike the clue for SOWED (60A): Scattered (seeds) since SEED POD is the answer for 42D: Vanilla bean. Also, why "Vanilla bean" for SEED POD? I don't get it.
Across:
15A: Half of CXIV: LVII. Roman 57. I am so happy that I am not a Roman. I don't think I can calculate without first converting those Roman numerals into Arabic numbers first.
16A: Auto-racing org.: NHRA (National Hot Rod Association)
21A: Kern and Robbins: JEROMES. JEROME Kern composed "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes". JEROME Robbins won an Oscar for directing "West Side Story". I knew neither of them.
24A: Argentine port: PARANA. See this map. I've never heard of PARANA River/port. My wrong guess was MARANA.
33A: Municipal grp.: DPW (Department of Public Works)
38A: Islands of Indonesia: ARU. Here is ARU Islands again (lower right corner).
39A: NHL coach Bowman: SCOTTY. Wow, 11 Stanley Cups, very impressive. Too bad, his name means nothing to me.
45A: Some changes: CENTS
49A: Peace pipe: CALUMET. No idea. Dictionary says CALUMET is "a long-stemmed sacred or ceremonial tobacco pipe used by certain Native American peoples." Native Indians seem to love feathers for decorations.
51A: Bay of Alaska: PRUDHOE. Have never heard of PRUDHOE Bay. Easy inference though.
Down:
8D: Martial arts masters: NINJAS. It's rooted in Chinese 忍者. Nin is "endure". Ja is "person". I know the name, did not know that they are "Martial arts masters".
9D: SF gridder: NINER. Wikipedia says San Francisco 49ers have won 5 Super Bowls, and they "share the Super Bowl win record with the Dallas Cowboys and the Pittsburgh Steelers". For another 10 days?
12D: Art Deco artist: ERTE. "Symphony in Black" is probably ERTE's most famous image.
24D: Platte River valley people: PAWNEES. New word to me. Does PAWNEE have any special meaning in their own language? Can't be PAWN related.
25D: Canton folk: SWISS. Good clue. I was thinking of those folks I left behind in Canton (Guangzhou), China. Did anyone think of those football Hall-of-Famers in Canton, OH?
26D: Stupor: pref.: NARCO
37D: Ref's cohort: UMP. Look at this guy's impressive bobblehead collection. I wonder if he has a 1960' UMP nodder.
40D: Screes: TALUSES. I did not know the meaning of "Scree". Checked the dictionary and it explains "scree" as TALUS, broken rock debris at the base of a cliff.
44D: Gas in Glasgow: PETROL. Good alliteration.
52D: Shaped with an ax: HEWN
50D: First-class: A ONE. And ONE A (53D: SSS class)
C.C.
