A good crossword clue has two faces: on the surface it should make some kind of sense, though in a misleading way; and underneath it should provide the means for the solver to work out the answer through the conventions of cryptic word-play. It's a bonus if the sense of the clue relates amusingly to the answer.
From today's Times crossword:
Blavatsky's belief that man is in toyshop, playing (9).
I like that. I bet the compiler was pleased with himself (herself?). The answer, of course, is "theosophy" – "he" (man) inside an anagram (playing) of "toyshop". You could perhaps criticise it for being too easy – provided you've heard of Madame Blavatsky, that is – but I'm not complaining.
[Yes, I do look at the Times crossword most days, and no, I'm not that good: I only rarely finish it. I'll give it maybe 15 minutes, and if I'm not making progress I'll give up.]
Was it Hermann Hesse in one of his books who characterised crosswords as the epitome of pointless time-wasting? He believed you should be off exploring the world – or your inner self, depending if you're Narziss or Goldmund. It seems a bit harsh to me. If – I'm inclined to say to old Hermann – if you Germans had spent more time doing crosswords – or in the toyshop, playing – and less time doing supposedly more important things, the world would've been spared a great deal of unpleasantness.
Mick Hartley 
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