Crossword Genius

Cobblers lacking companions to stop by (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

baloney

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

'cobblers' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'lacking companions to stop by' is the wordplay.
'lacking companions' becomes 'alone' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'to stop' is an insertion indicator (stopping can mean blocking a gap).
'alone' placed inside 'by' is 'BALONEY'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for baloney that I've seen before include "rhubarb" , "Tosh" , "Tripe < , smoked sausage" , "foolish talk!" , "Cobblers" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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