Crossword Genius

... in spite of having no status (15)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

notwithstanding

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

'in spite' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'of having no status' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'of' could be 'o' and 'o' is found in the answer.
'having' could be 'with' (I've seen this in another clue) and 'with' is located in the answer.
'no' could be 'n' (common abbreviation) and 'n' is located in the answer.
'status' could be 'standing' (standing is a kind of status) and 'standing' is located in the answer.
A single letter 't' remains which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for notwithstanding that I've seen before include "Nevertheless" , "without being still" , "yet" , "Despite" , "Regardless of" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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