Before
- The way in which Steely Dan will "Do It," or Britney Spears "Did It" (5): AGAIN
- Ill-natured in crustacean manner (6): CRABBY
- Sevastopol's peninsula (6): CRIMEA
- Doppelgänger (6): DOUBLE
- Employ lips in sulking (4): POUT
- Sidekick and Pebbles thief Barney (6): RUBBLE
- End of Solomon Grundy's life (8): SATURDAY
- As milk ignor'd, or movies' plots reveal'd (6): SPOILT
- Puberty can make it crack (5): VOICE
The "three bloodletters (of a certain type)" in the flavor text are the letters A, B, and O. Execute "bloodletting" by removing all those letters from the "Before" answers to yield the "After" answers:
After
- Partner of punishment [4]: CRIME
- As milk o'erturn'd, or gossip unconceal'd [3]: SPILT
- Partner of tonic [3]: GIN
- Actor Hill [2]: DULE
- Durable [1]: STURDY
- Weep [1]: CRY
- Place [2]: PUT
- Comedians and Wiccans recognize one of Three [3]: RULE
- Foible [4]: VICE
The answer, MINUSCULE, describes a letter that is "not as big as" certain other letters.
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