The Age Cryptic by DH #20,573

This one was tough, too. Last week the puzzles were a breeze this week it's punishment for having said the puzzles were easy. Ebb and flow. Another one with some medical answers that without dicking about (cheating) with anagram solvers, would have been impossible - or I'd have to wait until my friend Doug the ENT was online so I could ask him about 7D. I often torment Doug with clues that have ENT in the surface because he doesn't solve cryptics and it seems to kind of bug him which means I'll do it more often. (birth order: last born, can you tell?)

I had to use One Across for 3D and 15D because although I had all the elements for 15D I'd never heard of it and was doubtful. Same goes for 16D, that's a new one on me, too.

Yesterday I was in a Twitter chat with LR and a few others about his puzzle yesterday and a tweet he shared where he said "Just realised HATERS GONNA HATE fits perfectly in a crossword grid. But of course NYT already did it last year. Innovators gonna innovate." and I'd asked if there was a copyright reason and he'd said no it was because it was a phrase his editor had rejected. I asked about what the rules were compilers had to follow and he said "SMH doesn't like Americanisms and phrases which aren't broadly familiar. Then of course there's the "breakfast test"..." All very interesting. Imagine my surprise then at seeing 25A "Finished weary, completely fagged out? (9)" Well! Americanisms are a no-no but this is ok? I've lived in the UK I know what it means and all, but still. Seems a kind of favouritism to allow "fagged out" but not "Haters Gonna Hate" because it has "gonna" in it. Didn't DA use "sorta kinda" in a clue several months back? LR needs to fight his corner harder - SMH/Age should embrace opportunities to draw in and encourage younger solvers, using their phrases and trends.

It's part of the whole stigma of cryptic crosswords; that they're for old people, they're too hard or are full of archaic words (kinda true). Worse is the idea that only nerdy types do them - Vive les Nerds I say! It's been a Nerd revolution for over a decade and we're winning! I think the papers have to join this century and call out to the younger generations Throw them a bone once in a while with clues and puzzle themes specifically targeting them otherwise the risk is a smaller future for cryptics.

Here's my pic:

13A - Some pressure very big? Tomic upset concerning diffusion through membrane? (7)

Definition is "diffusion through membrane" and I know the last five letters are "TOMIC upset" but I'm not understanding where the OS is coming from to give us OSMOTIC.

3D - Little jerk after record. Irish menagerie in disease affecting lots of animals (9)

I got "little jerk" = TIC and it was going "after" other things but whether "report" is a homophone signpost or we're wanting a synonym I'm not sure and I've no clue what "Irish menagerie" is about either but "menagerie" looked like a good anagrind but no fodder here. What do those words do to make EPIZOOTIC?

4D - Love hanging that woman around? Left Achurch's footwear accessories? (9)

"Footwear accessories" is what we're looking for and "love" = O and "that woman" = SHE where the O is "hanging around" to make SH(O)E. Then "left" = L and here I'm stumped because "Achurch's" = ACES...Oh is is just A church's but DH made it look like a name so it's A CE'S. Ha-tcha-tcha I got ya!

20D - Hard with repressive order initially causing devastation (5)

I keep thinking this is a first/last clue but it's not, even though it says "initially"  but I think it only applies to "Causing". Is this "Hard" = H "repressive order" = AVO which I think is like a restraining order but DH uses "repressive" instead and then the C to make HAVOC?



That was my puzzle day. Hope yours was kinder. I was delighted - happy dance - that I got the reverse anagram in 26A. They're a rare clue and I'm not good at spotting them but I nailed it this time.

As always if you have solutions or got your answers in another way, please let me know in the comments. Tomorrow I'll look at the DP but will probably go for the Guardian puzzle. I'll see how I feel about them both. (That's me being a coward about solving Guardian puzzles. Don't let me get away with that!)

Have a good night!