Wow! I am totally amazed with this puzzle. I can't imagine working out a grid of this size with the interactions of all these words forward, backward and up and down! This was in an old crossword puzzle book and when I saw it I knew I had to solve it! If you're like me, you can solve it too. No posts required.
Kudos to this puzzle designer!
The answers to the clues will form one continuous thread weaving across the top row, back on the second and so on. When the thread reaches the end of the bottom row, it will weave up the last column, down the next to the last, and will finally end up where it began in the upper-left corner. The arrows will guide you. The last letter of each answer will be the first letter of the next answer.
See the puzzle