Crossword Genius

Own up to being beaten by cranky meat diet fad (5,6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

admit defeat

'own up to being beaten' is the definition.
(to admit defeat is to acknowledge you're beaten)

'cranky meat diet fad' is the wordplay.
'cranky' is an anagram indicator.
'meat'+'diet'+'fad'='meatdietfad'
'meatdietfad' with letters rearranged gives 'ADMIT DEFEAT'.

'by' acts as a link.

(Another definition for admit defeat that I've seen is " Give in".)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app