The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 3 plus 2 letter word GET AT
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
G
E
T
A
T
More clues leading to the result GET AT
- To annoy persistently is mean!
- Bother with rubbish, say, piling up
- It's mean to criticise
- Criticise characters in state government during recession
- To criticise is mean
- Criticise access
- Needle, say, reversed to make lace
- Launch verbal attack on grand gallery retrospective
- Intend to persuade volunteers to return
- Criticise characters on the rise in state government
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Criticise/access" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case criticise/access = get at.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.