Theme: THROW (63. Light bed cover ... and a verb
that goes with the first parts of this puzzle's four longest answers) -
What you can do to the first word of each theme answer.
17A. Performance featuring Gene Simmons: KISS CONCERT. Throw a kiss.
55A. Speaker of the House, e.g.: PARTY LEADER. Throw a party.
11D. Meet one's needs: FIT THE BILL. Throw a fit.
28D. Enforcer of hunting laws: GAME WARDEN. Throw a game.
Boomer Here. Happy to see a work by Mr. Fred Piscop. Hope you are doing fine.
I never throw anything away. Something I learned from my dear Mom. As a result, I seem to have thousands of baseball cards from the 80s through 2019. Years ago I had a complete set of 1952 baseball cards that all looked like they just came out of a pack. I made a little money on the deal, but if I had saved the Mickey Mantle for a while, my Santa Fe might be a Cadillac.
Across:
1. Dutch-speaking Caribbean island: ARUBA.
6. Sharp conflict: CLASH. Can you believe that Vikings QB Kirk Cousins refuses to get vaccinated?
11. Butcher's trimmings: FAT. I trimmed mine with diabetes.
14. More ticked off: SORER.
15. Video's partner: AUDIO. I always leave the AUDIO off when I play Pac-Man.
16. Wedding promise: I DO.
19. Shipping weight: TON.
20. Deck chair piece: SLAT.
21. Meat ending for "sir": LOIN. Sirloin. Or when you trim down with diabetes.
22. Don't disturb: LET BE. "LET it BE." The Beatles.
24. Outdoor chimes player: WIND.
25. Went for stripers, say: FISHED. I never heard this word in Minnesota. Most folks go fishing.
26. Wins back: REGAINS. I don't hear this word much in Las Vegas.
30. Hora or hula: DANCE.
31. Dead-on: EXACT.
32. Convertible sofa: HIDE A BED. We had one of these on the porch when I was a kid. Very Handy.
35. Stop on a __: DIME.
36. Queeg's ship: CAINE. The senator from Virginia, who ran for Vice President in 2016, is KAINE.
38. Old King Cole's smoke: PIPE. He was a Merry Old Soul.
39. Broad-brimmed hats: STETSONS. You just don't see many goofy hats around anymore. Only baseball caps. Mine have a TC on them.
41. __ of Troy: HELEN.
42. Astronaut Schirra: WALLY. Beaver's older Brother, Tony Dow.
43. Graceland surname: PRESLEY. "The Mississippi Delta was shining like a National Guitar". Paul Simon.
45. Expressed in words: STATED.
47. Word after Joe or low: BLOW. Looks like a clue from "America Says" with John Michael Higgins.
48. "Gay" city in a Porter song: PAREE.
49. Blue-green shade: TEAL. Popular game duck in Minnesota.
50. Bluish part of blue cheese: MOLD. Yuck!
54. Wrap up: END. Tight guy on the front line.
58. Biography datum: AGE. My High School reunion is coming up in
a couple of weeks. There I will be a 73 year old hanging out with a
whole bunch of 74s.
59. Bring joy to: ELATE.
60. Tearoom biscuit: SCONE.
61. "Anchorman: The Legend of __ Burgundy": RON. All I know he was a goofy weatherman in a San Diego TV station who always wore a Burgundy Jacket.
62. Closer to maturity: RIPER. Our vegetables are no longer
getting RIPER. Squirrels ate the plants. I think the drought might have
something to do with this. We never had this problem before.
Down:
1. Requests: ASKS. And you shall Receive.
2. Stir up: ROIL. I had the OIL changed in the Santa Fe last Friday. They did not have any with "R".
3. Astronomical bear: URSA. Major or Minor?
4. Oscars category adjective: BEST. And you receive a goofy trophy. In the Olympics you get a gold medal!
5. Lob trajectory: ARC. Great for a nine iron, not so good on a putt.
6. Church decrees: CANONS. We do not hear much about CANON laws at church anymore.
7. Clear-thinking: LUCID.
8. Port of Yemen: ADEN. Back when I lived in a three bedroom home, my dad turned one of the bedrooms into A DEN. I slept in the basement.
9. Knightly title: SIR. Gold or silver bars, oak leaves, or
stars on the collar. Sorry Spitzboov, I only know about the Army.
Maybe you can fill me in on Naval officers, Sir?
10. Emergency phone link: HOTLINE.
12. Photoshop creator: ADOBE.
13. In good muscular shape: TONED. I wish I were.
18. Lena of TV's "Riviera": OLIN.
23. Houdini feats: ESCAPES. Houdini was truly an ESCAPE artist. However he could not escape an appendix attack and died at the age of 52.
24. Gag writer's asset: WIT. I try.
25. Lose brilliance: FADE.
26. Many lipstick shades: REDS. Cincinnati baseball team. Doing pretty well in the NL.
27. Off-ramp: EXIT. Also a lighted sign in a dark theater.
29. Clear overlay: ACETATE.
30. Annoying racket: DIN. The only annoying DIN heard at Target Field this year is the sound of opponent's bats on white baseballs.
32. Casual hellos: HIS.
33. Sword with a three-sided blade: EPEE.
34. Declare false: DENY. I didn't do this.
36. Faucet handle word: COLD. We don't have COLD on our faucets. We have to guess.
37. At least one: ANY.
40. Surprise success: SLEEPER. I think I will use this to call a putt that goes in over ten feet away. That will be a surprise !
41. Chop down: HEW.
43. Team member: PLAYER.
44. Breadbasket item: ROLL. Or a shot at the Craps table.
45. Pickle serving: SPEAR.
46. Letter after Sierra: TANGO. It takes two to do this.
47. Midler of "The Rose": BETTE. I remember the Seinfeld episode at a softball game where Kramer gets her a Popsicle.
49. Lint catcher: TRAP. They also work on mice. Maybe not quite as well.
50. Speed-of-sound word: MACH.
51. Garlic tip-off: ODOR.
52. Lantern-jawed Jay: LENO. He's really got some fancy old cars. They look new.
53. Neither won nor lost: DREW.
56. Oscar winner Mahershala __: ALI. "Moonlight" and "Green Book".
57. Charlotte winter hrs.: EST.
Boomer
