Is the final insult finishing off the spice? (7)

I believe the answer is:

saffron

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

'is the final insult finishing off' is the wordplay.
'is the final' becomes 's' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'insult' becomes 'affront' (synonyms).
'finishing off' means to remove the last letter.
'affront' with its last letter taken off is 'affron'.
's'+'affron'='SAFFRON'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for saffron that I've seen before include "Orange flower part used in flavouring food" , "spicy" , "Spice from crocuses" , "Valuable spice" , "Orange-yellow colour" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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