Middle Eastern country that breaks the no-text rule of flag design in its current iteration, leading to the fascinating fact that flags with Arabic script have the hoist on the right side instead of the left
8A
Salutes with bread?
14A
Yoko
15A
Toni Morrison's second novel
16A
Chocolate lattes
17A
Inc., in England
18A
What you could replace the "t" with in "narcotic" to instead describe someone with a particular sleep disorder
19A
One of two countries whose flag features a dragon (the other being Wales)
20A
Pleasant smell
22A
___ Dazs ice cream
24A
99% Invisible podcaster making vexillology cool again
26A
Frisbees
30A
Wedding words
31A
Addams cousin
33A
Archaic second person pronoun
34A
State of high temperature (this unfortunately is not the kind of state that has a flag)
38A
German for "marriage," though to me it looks like a scrambled laugh
40A
Phone program
41A
On a flag, the side opposite 42A
42A
On a flag, the side opposite 41A
44A
Sweet potato
45A
Lead-in to ate, forming an apt descriptor for one who maybe ate too much turkey at Thanksgiving
46A
House shoe
47A
Love, in Lima
49A
Universal call for help
51A
Hubbub
52A
Polynesian country whose flag has the Southern Cross constellation in its 62A
54A
State whose flag was ranked the best US state flag by the North American Vexillological Association (also go check out the city flags, both the beautiful and the cringeworthy)
59A
Sense of discomfort
61A
Synthetic material . . . which may be used as a sturdy flag fabric
62A
Upper left corner of a flag
65A
Aid in crime
67A
What I will claim as mine when I mine this mine
68A
Color theory board game (in Britain)?
69A
2049, in ancient Rome
70A
Store-specific UPC counterpart
71A
Buffalo hockey team, named for curved swords
72A
Small whirlpool
73A
Recipe meas.
Verticales
1D
Lunar's opposite
2D
Lead-in
3D
Biblical city featuring in the story of Lot's salty wife
4D
Inhabitants of Puerto Rico or 52A, for example
5D
Street in Paris, a city where the mayor has her own flag, in addition to the city flag
6D
First letter of the NATO spelling method
7D
Resident of an Arabian peninsula state, which is one of only two countries to feature maroon on their flag
8D
Unusually tall band that potentially exists? (Abbr.)
9D
Reacted to a fireworks show, maybe
10D
Window box to help beat the heat
11D
Great Lake trekking rte
12D
Pagoda found in the Asian nation whose flag has a large red circle, or its red and yellow flagged neighbor
13D
Taxpayer ID
21D
Easternmost US state, whose flag is unfortunately just another blue flag with the state coat of arms (like more than half the US states!)
23D
Perennial flowers named for their resemblance to stars (thanks ma for making me study Greek roots in high school)
25D
Plants that ostensibly prefer the north side of trees (at least in this hemisphere)
27D
Like some cheeses or musical notes
28D
Mini-forest
29D
Start to man, boy, and dog of comics
32D
Where you might be if you're running from law enforcement, with "on"
34D
Houseplants also known as a waxplants, though apparently the more common way to clue this is with a college sports team I hadn't heard of
35D
44th president
36D
On-screen parent like Carol Brady or Morticia Addams
37D
Central Arizona city whose flag I really like, despite breaking the no-text vexillology rule (See it here: Red Rock News)
39D
So it would seem
43D
Clear resin
48D
Wifi connecting box
50D
Seedy street?
53D
Battery terminal
55D
Site that will probably tell you you're going to die, no matter what symptoms you're trying to look up
56D
What you might say when you think of "The Game"
57D
Bottle stoppers
58D
An extra life for Mario
60D
Music for Airports composer . . . and his siblings Roger and Arlette