Crossword Genius

Having some deficiency outside (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

without

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

'outside' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'having some deficiency' is the wordplay.
'having' becomes 'with' (I've seen this before).
'some deficiency' becomes 'out' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'with'+'out'='WITHOUT'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for without that I've seen before include "Lacking; not inside" , "Free from: in the absence of" , "Not accompanied by" , "Lacking; outside" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish News.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app