It’s called an interesting and curious crossword, but it is just QUIET going across and the letters going down. How does this work with the clues?
Read the letters out loud. e.g. Q’s = “cues”, U’s = “ewes”
Across:
9 = Rides
And the answer is “TTTTTT”
Tease? T’s?
Yes, to “ride” someone is to tease them.
Note the clue is “ride” not “rides”. The latter would have to be teases.