Crossword puzzle clue "hint"

Hint (and a hint to this puzzle's theme)

"Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of ___" (classic 1971 children's book based on experiments at the National Insistute of Mental Health, hint hint)

Something your poetry teacher might assign you to write about a particularly inspirational poetry teacher you've had *hint* *hint

Contented sighs (and a homophonic hint to this puzzle's theme)

"Dog the Bounty Hunter" network, and a hint to the theme in this puzzle's four longest answers

Kind of order ... or a hint to this puzzle's unusual construction

Third-largest French-speaking city in the world [hint: it's in Ivory Coast]

Blood-typing letters, and a hint to the "transfusions" in this puzzle