If the above Meta Prompt isn't enough, here are some hints you can reveal to help with determining the meta answer:
Hint #1: Try finding a hidden message in the completed grid, starting in the top-left corner. You should get: FINAL LETTERS SEE CLUES
Hint #2: Time to leave the grid and check the clues themselves! You should get: REPLACE NAL USE RST
Hint #3: Where have you seen NAL before? You should get: FIRST LETTERS SEE CLUES
Hint #4: This is an easy one. You should get: READ TWELVE ACROSS
Hint #5: Twelve Across refers to part of the crossword. It might be good to heed the comment about "spaces" in the intro above now. You should get: THE METAS KNOT (from the title)