Crossword Genius

Great time, not at the start, the end (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

last

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

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

'great time not at the start' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'time' could be 't' (abbreviation) and 't' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'las' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for last that I've seen before include "Final; keep going" , "It helps cobbler" , "Least likely" , "` `Let the cobbler stick to his ....' '" , "Final; endure" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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