Without a clue, perhaps? (7,2,2,2)

I believe the answer is:

nothing to go on

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

'a clue perhaps?' is the definition.
I don't know anything about this answer so I can't tell whether this works.

'without' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'without' could be 'not' and 'not' is found in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

I've seen this clue in The Irish Independent.

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