| WRITERSBLOCK | Problem for a wordsmith, and a clue to five figures hidden in this puzzle |
| INSIDEINFO | Scoop, and a clue to five other Across answers |
| SANTAS | "Secret" figures hidden among the third, sixth, tenth, and thirteenth rows in this puzzle |
| SERVED | Passed a figure hidden in reeds, perhaps (6) |
| LADANSE | Matisse painting with five figures in motion |
| ABE | Five-figure nickname |
| LEXICOGRAPHY | It's a job for a wordsmith (12) |
| ALIAS | Anna Gram, say, for a wordsmith |
| DICT | Ref. for a wordsmith |
| TWO | Figure hidden by a modest woman |
| OVERTONE | Obvious figure, hidden meaning (8) |
| AROUNDTHEBLOCK | Where a dog-walker might go (and where a message is hidden in this puzzle) |
| STEPHENCOLBERT | Author of a satirical book whose title consists of five U.S. state abbreviations (and is hidden in this puzzle) |
| ROUNDOFAPPLAUSE | Acknowledgement of success--four are hidden in this puzzle, each adjacent to a black square |
| OFFCOLORJOKE | Bit of vulgar humor ... or a hint to the nine-letter term hidden in this puzzle |
| GETBENTOUTOFSHA | Blow a gasket, and a clue to making sense of some answers in this puzzle |
| GEARSHIFT | Auto part, and a clue to what's going on in five rows of this puzzle |
| ROADS | There are four hidden in this puzzle, which together suggest a familiar five-word saying (3,5,4,2,4) |
| TREES | There are six hidden in this puzzle in appropriate places |
| TWOUNDERPAR | Eagle in golf (there are six hidden in this puzzle) |
