Crossword Genius

Say yes to a female ditched in partnership (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

firm

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'partnership' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'say yes to a female ditched' is the wordplay.
'say' shows a homophone (sound like).
'yes' becomes 'ay'.
'to a' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other) (I've seen this in other clues).
'female' becomes 'f' (abbreviation).
'ditched' becomes 'rm' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'ay' sounds like 'i'.
'i' after 'f' is 'fi'.
'fi'+'rm'='FIRM'

'in' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for firm that I've seen before include "Steady sort of business organisation" , "Solid; secure" , "team of doctors in hospital" , "Resistant to pressure" , "unlikely to collapse" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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