Crossword Genius

When the play was taken off recently? (4,5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

last night

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

'play was taken off recently?' is the definition.
I don't know anything about this answer so I cannot tell whether this works.

'when the' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'when' could be 'as' (eg 'when I walked' means 'as I walked') and 'as' is found within the answer.
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is located in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for last night that I've seen is " "I didn't sleep a wink _____"".)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app