Crossword Genius

Not in step with partners? On the contrary (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

passe

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

'not in' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)

'step with partners? on the contrary' is the wordplay.
'step' becomes 'pas' (I've seen this before).
'with' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'partners? on the contrary' becomes 'se' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'pas'+'se'='PASSE'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for passe that I've seen before include "Master key - picture mounting" , "Old hat" , "Out-of-date (French)" , "Old fashioned - in France" , "-- -partout" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app