Crossword Genius

Not stopping the French pinching odd items? On the contrary (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

endless

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

'items? on the contrary' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are adjectives. Maybe there's an association between them I don't understand?

'not stopping the french pinching odd' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'not' could be 'less' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'less' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'end' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for endless that I've seen before include "Going on and on, interminable" , "Sister of Aaron (Exodus)" , "no boundaries" , "without finishing" , "Eternal or interminable" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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