The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 letter word BARB
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
B
A
R
B
More clues leading to the result BARB
- Pub bore at first provokes sharp comment
- Hurtful remark from pub bore, initially
- Second pub, perhaps, to get criticism
- Insult lawyers and bishop
- Point, indicating second stop on pub crawl
- It’s painful to hear what drinks cost, though not poor
- Slight charge for refreshments – not bad
- Exclude bishop for hurtful remark
- Sharp point is said to hurt
- Insult legendary Sevillian, without hesitation
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The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does BARB mean?
BARB noun- The point that stands backward in an arrow, fishhook, etc., to prevent it from being easily extracted. Hence: Anything which stands out with a sharp point obliquely or crosswise to something else.
- A hurtful or disparaging remark.
- A beard, or that which resembles it, or grows in the place of it.
- Armor for a horse, corrupted from bard.
- A horse.
- One of the side branches of a feather, which collectively constitute the vane.
- Any of various species of freshwater carp-like fish that have barbels and belong to the cyprinid family.
- Menticirrhus americanus (Carolina whiting, king whiting, southern kingcroaker, and southern kingfish), found along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the United States.
- A hair or bristle ending in a double hook.
- A blackish or dun variety of the pigeon, originally brought from Barbary.
- A muffler, worn by nuns and mourners.
- Paps, or little projections, of the mucous membrane, which mark the opening of the submaxillary glands under the tongue in horses and cattle. The name is mostly applied when the barbs are inflamed and swollen. [Written also barbel and barble.]
- A bit for a horse.
- A plastic fastener, shaped roughly like a capital I (with serifs), used to attach socks etc. to their packaging.
- To furnish with barbs, or with that which will hold or hurt like barbs, as an arrow, fishhook, spear, etc.
- To cover a horse in armor, corrupted from bard.
- To cut (hair).
- To shave or dress the beard of.
- To clip; to mow.
- The Barbary horse, a superior breed introduced from Barbary into Spain by the Moors.
- A blackish or dun variety of pigeon, originally brought from Barbary.
- A barbiturate.