Crossword No. 741:

Sticker Shock

ACROSS

1 Phrase on candy hearts 6 “I like the cut of your ___” 9 Food for seals and baleen whales 14 Singin’ in the Rain co-director Stanley 15 “___ it or lose it” 16 Rapp in 2024’s Mean Girls 17 Brockovich and Andrews, for two 18 Illuminated 19 “Otherwise...” 20 The U.S. Postal Service last week proposed a first-class stamp price increase from 68 cents to this many, starting in July; it would be the second price increase this year 23 Stud’s place 24 Way out 28 Fargo character whose husband’s duck design gets selected for use only on 3-cent stamps; she cheers him up by saying: “Whenever they raise the postage, people need the little stamps” 33 Classic toothpaste 34 The Beatles’ “I’ve Just ___ Face” 35 Signal a second time, as an actor 36 High school gym event 38 City known for mustard 40 Have the nerve (to) 41 “___ words were never spoken” 43 Beds, in Buenos Aires 45 For each item 46 Technical term describing stamps that, like 51-Across, lack a specific value; most U.S. stamps now fall under this category 49 Jenna who stars in Wednesday 50 To the ___ degree 51 The USPS’s first “Forever” stamps were issued in 2007 as an inflation hedge and called by this name after the historic item they depicted 58 Neruda or Picasso 61 Cartoon bartender 62 Play for ___ (trick) 63 Flonase competitor 64 Highest level, casually 65 “Pretty please?” 66 Group of central Asian countries, with “the” 67 Beautifying works 68 Weak-___ (cowardly)

DOWN

1 October 15 or March 15, e.g. 2 Twice-told tales 3 Part of UCLA 4 Decorative cover 5 Frees, as a caught fishing line 6 7 out of 12 7 “Really?” 8 Actress Behrs of 2 Broke Girls 9 USWNT soccer great Ali ___ 10 Sent, as to another doctor 11 Traveler’s stop 12 Shortest zodiac name 13 Permit 21 Trapped up high 22 Part of “Roy G. Biv” 25 Find a way out 26 Went bad, as milk 27 Nasty look 28 Primper’s place 29 Word on receipts 30 Insurance company with a spokeslizard 31 Clear, as a printer 32 Campbell or Osaka 33 Address info, often 37 City where Seasons 1 and 2 of Narcos is set 39 Kid watcher 42 Parts of a country 44 Relaxed 47 Catch, as a counterfeiter 48 1996 thriller starring Robert De Niro and Wesley Snipes 52 Stone with two Oscars 53 Crowd’s reaction to a great play 54 Write a note to 55 Solitary 56 Rob of The West Wing 57 Winter whizzer 58 Faux ___ 59 Toward the stern 60 Maidenform product