A source of criticism carried up a hill (9)
I believe the answer is:
detractor
'a source of criticism' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.
'carried up a hill' is the wordplay.
'carried' becomes 'carted' (carting is a kind of carrying).
'up' is a reversal indicator (in down clue: letters go upwards).
'a hill' becomes 'tor' (tor is a kind of hill).
'carted' in reverse letter order is 'detrac'.
'detrac'+'tor'='DETRACTOR'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for detractor that I've seen before include "I make uncomplimentary remarks" , "one responsible for mud flying around" , "one runs people down" , "One belittling" , "Slighter" .)