Perhaps the most baroque preamble I’ve had in the Enigmatic Variations series, and not something that could be squeezed into the available space today, I suspect. Against that, the thematic release of not indicating ‘last of’ or ‘finally’ certainly shortened some clues, and may be worth trying again in some way.
The two theatrical references were perhaps somewhat obscure, although Beckett’s star continues to grow (maybe not so much for Krapp) while John Arden’s has waned. My justification for the Arden reference was that I have actually acted (even sung) in a John Arden play, and I looked around at his other work out of curiosity, and the title stuck in my mind.
Solvers had to LAST out the ENDURANCE TEST, finding the unclued SUTOR, SNOB and COBBLER (all users of LASTs), and (in the LAST row) ESCHATOLOGY (the doctrine of LAST things). The affected down answers referred to: FAMOUS LAST WORDS, CUSTER’S LAST STAND, KRAPP’S LAST TAPE (Beckett), FOUR LAST SONGS (Richard Strauss) and ARMSTRONG’S LAST GOODNIGHT (Arden). No indications were given of the use – inclusion or omission – of LAST letters of words involved in clue wordplay.
ACROSS
1 FRENCH STICK; anag. – I
10 AUTO; aut(h)o(r)
12 MNAS; m,n a,s
13 SERIEMA; Erie in sma’
14 OCTETS; O C + anag.
16 FLEW; l in few
18 ALAAP; a in a lap
21 ONEYRE; on Eyre
23 JAUPS; ja ups
26 DSOMO; last letters
27 STROUD; ro in stud
29 HOST; s in hot
31 LEMON; mo in Len
32 YAWP; way (rev.) + P
35 FIACRE; a/c in fire
38 PION; o in pin
39 KRAAL; a in lark (rev.)
40 WANT; w ant
DOWN
1 WORDS; w ords; FAMOUS
2 RUNCINATE; n in anag.
3 ETAT; tate (rev.)
4 STAND; st(r)and; CUSTER
5 HIES; hi(v)es
6 TUILLES; i in tulles
7 ITEM; I + met (rev.)
8 COMB; comb(er)
9 TAPE; ‘t ape & lit; KRAPP
15 HAND; H and
16 SONGS; ng in SOS; FOUR
17 WOODY; d in woo y
19 GOODNIGHT; anag; ARMSTRONG
22 YOOP; po oy (all rev.)
24 POOH-BAH; OO h,b in pah
25 SUNN; sun n
28 HAIRDO; hair do
30 TWENTY; went in t,y
31 LOCKE; lock e
33 BORS; ‘bores’
34 ABAC; a in ABC
35 FENT; fen t
36 CIAO; C(h)i(n)a o
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