Crossword Genius

Noble, not having a chance (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

imperil

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

'chance' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'noble not having a' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'a' could be 'per' and 'per' is present in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for imperil that I've seen before include "Expose" , "put at hazard" , "Put at risk" , "Put in danger" , "Endanger" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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