Trash Compact(o)r

This puzzle may drive you a little batty (4 characters) until you discover its secret. Even then, it may continue to irritate (6 characters), but I hope it will eventually lead you to delight (6 characters).

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
A                        
B                        
C                        
D                        
E                        
F                        
G                        
H                        
I                        
J                        
K                        
L                        


Across Down

A1: A Tony.
A9: Even less full.
B1: A double uey?
B9: Foreword.
C1: Noisy grasshopper.
C8: Mother of steel.
D4: DC neighbor.
E1: Skin shade.
E5: Star Wars, for example.
F1: Lost.
F5: Buried under MacPherson's shoal?
F10: Multiples of 16 oz.
G1: "Man or a mouse" opener.
G5: Calm down, Ms. Arthur!
G10: With fibrous threads.
H1: Possible US slogan during WWII?
H10: ASAP, I promise.
I3: Hits the slopes after hours?
J1: Casting director's expression.
J8: Start of a famous soliloquy.
K1: Idolize.
K8: Holyfield and others.
L1: Attributes.
L8: French composer.

A1: Hit another player's ball.
A2: Reagan's decade.
A3: Type of magazine.
A4: Leak.
A5: Talk show host.
A9: Noteworthy.
A10: They do without spirits.
A11: Blunder.
A12: Fish eggs.
C8: Going to Ballard's bash? Show her your happy face!
D6: Problem in New Orleans?
D7: Result of tanker spill?
E1: Grand magasin des discounts.
E2: Vous êtes Canadien aussi?
E3: Exhortation to solve this puzzle.
E11: Macaronis.
E12: Sporting network.
H4: Sings swing (variant).
I9: A nasty Karl.
J1: C - X.
J2: Vehicle.
J10: Cozy inn.
J11: Option to just me.
J12: They tread the boards in CV37 6BB.