Monday September 9, 2013 Jack McInturff

Theme: Shh! - The first words of all the theme entries are synonyms.

20A. Gentle leader's quality: QUIET STRENGTH. Thought of Mother Teresa.

37A. Devout petitions kept to oneself : UNSPOKEN PRAYERS. New term to me. Can you explain to me? Do they start with "Dear God..." also?  Jack used a plural because a grid-spanning 15 is easier to work than a 14, but it introduces an inconsistency to the theme set.

58A. Behind-the-scenes investor : SILENT PARTNER

C.C. here.

Dear Argyle was admitted to a VA hospital last Friday night. Foot ulcer. Like Boomer, he's a diabetic, so foot problem is very complicated and scaring. He should be back home later this week. Please keep him in your thoughts.

Monday puzzles always have simple themes and straightforward clues. Just look at the last few Down entries. What could be answers other than  IOWA, SKY & ONO?

 

Across:

1. The Crimson Tide's school, for short : BAMA. Alma mater of Alan, Marti's husband.

5. Delayed, as in traffic : STUCK

10. Boast : BRAG. How close were you to a hole-in-one? I hit the stick once.

14. Fe on the periodic table : IRON

15. Latin bears : URSAE

16. Bridle strap : REIN

17. Ditty : SONG

18. Lament over a loss : MOURN. Morneau has not been doing well with the Pirates. He was never the same after the concussion 3 years ago.

19. Light brown : ECRU

23. Cry of surrender : UNCLE

24. Practice for the LSAT, e.g. : PREP

25. Crescent component : ARC

28. Lou Grant portrayer : ED ASNER. Super grid-friendly letter combo, hence his frequent appearance in Xwords.

31. Tar pits locale : LA BREA. Tartar!

33. Cowboys and Indians, e.g. : TEAMS. Nice clue.

36. Lab gel made from seaweed : AGAR

43. Doughnut's middle : HOLE

44. Gets really wet : SOAKS

45. Voices one's view : OPINES

48. 401(k) alternative named for a Delaware sen. : ROTH-IRA

53. Like cool cats : HEP

54. 1986 Peace Nobelist Wiesel : ELIE

57. "The __ Sanction": Eastwood thriller set in the Alps : EIGER. Did you read the news about Eastwood and his wife spouse-swapped with their friends?

62. NYC or London area : SOHO

64. Bygone anesthetic : ETHER

65. Bottom of a shoe : SOLE

66. Be absolutely sure : KNOW

67. April Fool's antic : TRICK

68. "Mila 18" author Leon : URIS. I think Abejo read this book.

69. Jedi guru : YODA

70. '90s White House cat : SOCKS. Clinton's cat.

71. Confined, with "up" : PENT

Down:

1. Shellfish soup : BISQUE. Have some!

2. In the area : AROUND

3. Tennis great Seles : MONICA. Read her biography years ago. Can't remember much though.

4. Beings with halos : ANGELS

5. Kid's math homework : SUMS

6. Pace between a walk and a run : TROT

7. Seize, as power : USURP

8. Concerned person : CARER. Maybe it's mental. I just feel Boomer walks slower than before. He just told me he'll cut Tuesday and Friday morning pot games out of his weekly schedule to focus on his three league games.

9. Pet motel : KENNEL

10. One of TV's Mavericks : BRET. This stumped me.

11. Plug in, as a smartphone : RE-CHARGE

12. What you breathe : AIR

13. African antelope : GNU

21. 7:50, vis-à-vis 8:00 : TEN TO

22. Dean's list no. : GPA

26. Back : REAR

27. Valets park them : CARS

29. Comic strip shriek : EEK

30. Explorer John and comical Charlotte : RAEs

32. Howl at the moon : BAY

34. Letters after L : MNO

35. Trade jabs : SPAR

37. "Whoops" : UH OH

38. "Nah!" : NOPE

39. Haphazard, as workmanship : SLIPSHOD. SLAPDASH has the same meaning, right?

40. Pig holder : PEN

41. Former MGM rival : RKO

42. Daisylike fall bloomer : ASTER. So pretty.

46. Long, thin fish : EEL

47. Rains ice pellets : SLEETS

49. Asks boldly, as for a loan : HITS UP

50. Turn one's back on : IGNORE. Can you ignore her?

51. Land with a rod : REEL IN

52. Slap the cuffs on : ARREST

55. Emcee's speech : INTRO

56. Moral principle : ETHIC

59. Des Moines's state : IOWA. I can picture Husker Gary say "Is Rich OK?"

60. Quick kiss : PECK

61. Slow-moving vessels : ARKs

62. Big __ Country : SKY

63. Sean's mom Yoko : ONO

I have a question for all of you: The blog main post looks unusual when I woke up this morning. The right edge words all spill out. Comments section is fine.

Does the main post look alright on your screen? Please let me know in the Comments section. Thank you.

C.C.

1) Updated at 7:27am: Blogger software had some changes last night: all the right edge words were truncated. The old blog Template did not allow width adjustment, so I had to apply a new one.  It'll take us a few days to get used to it. Thanks for the understanding.

2) Updated at 2:27pm: I've reversed to the old Template. Header button just would not work in the new format. The right edge problem is miraculously gone!