What the answers to this puzzle's starred clues all are
Else clues• 'Jumbo shrimp' and 'paid volunteer,' e.g.
• Jumbo shrimp, etc.
• Civil war et al.
• Deafening silence and bittersweet
• Passive-aggressive and the like
• Seemingly self-contradictory figures of speech
• The theme of this puzzle
• Theme of this puzzle