Crossword Genius

Upright character, married, past the prime. There's no way out of this (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

impasse

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

'prime there's no way out of this' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.

'upright character married past' is the wordplay.
'upright character' becomes 'I' (vertical letter of the alphabet).
'married' becomes 'm'.
'past' becomes 'passe' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'i'+'m'+'passe'='IMPASSE'

'the' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for impasse that I've seen before include "deadlock results" , "Stalling of negotiations" , "Standstill" , "hopeless difficulty" , "Situation in which no progress can be made" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app