Crossword Genius

Ultimate proviso when entering farm building is blunt (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

stultify

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'blunt' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are verbs in their base form, I don't understand how one could define the other.

'ultimate proviso when entering farm building' is the wordplay.
'ultimate' becomes 'ult'.
'proviso' becomes 'if' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'when entering' is an insertion indicator.
'farm building' becomes 'sty'.
'ult'+'if'='ultif'
'ultif' going inside 'sty' is 'STULTIFY'.

'is' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for stultify that I've seen before include "Make a fool" , "Make useless" , "Dull the mind with tedious tasks" , "Cause to feel bored" , "Make futile" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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