Plea From 64 Across

• a plaintiff's reply to a defendant's plea

• an advantage held by a competitor in a race

• a soft heavy toxic malleable metallic element; bluish white when freshly cut but tarnishes readily to dull grey

• mixture of graphite with clay in different degrees of hardness; the marking substance in a pencil

• evidence pointing to a possible solution

• a position of being the initiator of something and an example that others will follow (especially in the phrase `take the lead')

• the angle between the direction a gun is aimed and the position of a moving target (correcting for the flight time of the missile)

• the introductory section of a story

• (sports) the score by which a team or individual is winning

• an actor who plays a principal role

• (baseball) the position taken by a base runner preparing to advance to the next base

• an indication of potential opportunity

• a news story of major importance

• the timing of ignition relative to the position of the piston in an internal-combustion engine

• restraint consisting of a rope (or light chain) used to restrain an animal

• thin strip of metal used to separate lines of type in printing

• a jumper that consists of a short piece of wire

• the playing of a card to start a trick in bridge

• take somebody somewhere

• produce as a result or residue

• tend to or result in

• travel in front of; go in advance of others

• cause to undertake a certain action

• stretch out over a distance, space, time, or scope; run or extend between two points or beyond a certain point

• be in charge of

• be ahead of others; be the first

• be conducive to

• lead, as in the performance of a composition

• lead, extend, or afford access

• move ahead (of others) in time or space

• cause something to pass or lead somewhere

• preside over

• earnestly or solemnly entreating

• containing a solemn charge or command