Crossword Genius

Drab partners holding hands, having nothing to hide (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

sloven

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

'hide' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I don't see how one could define the other.

'drab partners holding hands having nothing' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'nothing' could be 'love' (love is zero in tennis) and 'love' is found within the answer.
'partners' could be 'sn' (South and North are partners in the game bridge) and 'sn' is present in the remaining letters.
No letters remain.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'to' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for sloven that I've seen before include "scruffy individual" , "Untidy or careless person" , "slattern" , "Slipshod person" , "Habitually negligent person" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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