Was he Cleopatra's lover endlessly? (5)

I believe the answer is:

anton

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'was he' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.

'cleopatra's lover endlessly?' is the wordplay.
'cleopatra's lover' becomes 'antony' (I've seen this in another clue).
'endlessly?' means to remove the last letter (I've seen 'endlessly' mean this).
'antony' with its final letter removed is 'ANTON'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for anton that I've seen before include "- Chekhov, playwright" , "Boy" , "Chekhov maybe" , "-- Chekhov, Russian dramatist" , "Chekhov, say" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.

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