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elle

30th August 2016, 19:07
Hi, Rusty!
There is a rather strange clue in this morning's Times QC.
8A: Green colour I have noticed on Circle Line (5)
The answer is "olive" = green (def)
O - circle
l - line
ive - I have
Okay so far........ but is this meant to be a reference to the Tube's Circle Line?
Because that is yellow!
Green is the District line.

And I have learned something new from the Times 2 xword........
7D: Towed barge; sandwich
I never knew that a "butty" - (remember chip butties?) - could also be a towed barge!
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rusty

30th August 2016, 19:35
Good evening, Elle!
I give way to your superior knowledge of Tube Line colours!
But, to me the clue is OK.
The setter is using his wiles to set you off at a tangent.
Olive is the green colour.
The rest of the clue sends you to the answer.
The capital starts to Circle Line are irrelevant, I think.
Just a ruse to confuse you.
And remember, there will be folk doing the puzzle who do not know of the Circle Line, or what colour it may or may not be.
"Butty" is not a word I use. I know it, though.
But, I certainly did not know a butty was a barge!
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pigale

30th August 2016, 20:15
And neither did I ! I had to cheat on this one to make sure 'butty' could be the answer.
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chrise

30th August 2016, 20:18
I've heard "butty boat" (one that butts up to another), but not butty by itself for a boat.
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eirlys

30th August 2016, 20:23
Chambers

Butty : a barge towed by another
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elle

30th August 2016, 20:27
Interestingly, MY Chambers (!) doesn't give it......
but my Concise Oxford give "butty" as a "towed barge or other craft".
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eirlys

30th August 2016, 20:31
My Ma's is 1972 edition
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rusty

30th August 2016, 20:31
Elle, you should bin that Chambers!
Anne Bradford has butty under "barge".
She also has "birlinn".
"A chief's barge or galley in the Western Isles."
I never knew they had barges in the Western Isles!
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elle

30th August 2016, 20:50
Hi, Rusty!
Mmm, I'm not convinced........ I know I have the answer "olive" correct - there is no doubt in my mind about that....
But I am half inclined to think that the compiler is in error and thinks that the Circle Line is 'green'......
I wish I could ask him/ her!
"Butty" is also a Northern word meaning "sandwich" - especially used in the north-west - and usually for a chip butty or a bacon butty.
It was in common usage when I was a child "up North"!
On reflection, I think my Scottish cousin used to say a chip "piece", when he meant a chip sandwich?
Throw my Chambers away, Rusty? when I am beginning to develop a reluctant affection for its idiosyncrasies/ funny little ways??
(Incidentally, it does have "birlinn" - although I had never heard of that word!)
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eirlys

30th August 2016, 20:55
Elle
Two of the most common ways for a compiler to try and mislead you are punctuation and Capital letters,.....ignore both !
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