Crossword Genius

Not placed in a quarter? (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

fourth

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'a quarter?' is the definition.
(a quarter is a fourth of something)

'not placed' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'not' could be 'o' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'o' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'furth' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

'in' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for fourth that I've seen before include "Just missing bronze medal?" , "Ordinal number for the press - the . . . . . . estate" , "Behind the top three" , "not among the medal winners?" , "Almost winning medal?" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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