LOWDOWN
Credit: LA Times Crossword
Sylvia Bursztyn and Barry Tunick

1. O. Henry forte
2. There are none of these on the road to success
3. Deficiency
4. Dispatched with little effort or consideration
5. Secretarial skill
6. The worst of a deal
7. The best kind of speech or sermon
8. One of nine on a playing field
9. Kind of cook
10. The whole story, briefly
11. Not grasping the big picture
12. Gap in reaching a goal, as in raising money

Answers:

1. Short story
2. Shortcuts
3. Shortcoming
4. Given short shrift
5. Shorthand
6. The short end of the stick
7. Short and sweet
8. Shortstop
9. Short order
10. The long and short of it
11. Short-sighted
12. Shortfall