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Thank you, Buddy #5, for your helpful post. It enabled me to make sense of the bottom line, to correct an error, and to give me an admiration for the brilliance of the construction of the puzzle.

I think many solvers are likely to be baffled as I was. What a pity that people may be put off by the obscurity of the preamble. But it does suggest that numbers even higher than 52 may be needed.

Another thing that may help solvers is the very small number of different letters used in the clashes.

I'm in the baffled camp. If my clashes are right there are two pairs which might make it possible to decipher the word. I assume it's one word? Otherwise I've counted and added and come up with nothing coherent. I suspect a scientific aspect?

I am also completely baffled. I only have a 2014 Chambers so not sure if it includes the critical 'hint'. Any chance of a bit more help???

aspria - both your assumption and suspicion are correct.

Got it now!

33d At this point, before entropy rises (4) HERE and ?ERE sere?

The wikipedia article for "entropy" gives the scientific abbreviation for that term. (If you can search Chambers for "entropy" it's there as well.)

Thank you Buddy..all finished now with your confirmation

I cottoned on to the “difference’ mechanism fairly early and got enough of the bottom line letters to fill it in. So I am now in the rather odd position of having completed the endgame but still only two thirds or so of the grid.