Crossword Genius

Cross note party people penned (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

traverse

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

'cross note party' is the definition.
'traverse' can be an answer for 'cross' (synonyms). I am not sure about the 'note party' bit.

'people penned' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'people' could be 'ravers' (raver is a kind of person) and 'ravers' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'te' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for traverse that I've seen before include "get across" , "Cross sideways" , "Extend or bridge across" , "Go across" , "In mountaineering, a steep slope to be crossed from side to side" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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