Where cobbler applies himself until dead? (2,3,4)
I believe the answer is:
to the last
'where cobbler applies' is the definition.
I know nothing about this answer so I cannot judge whether it can be defined by this definition.
'himself until dead?' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'himself' could be 'he' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'he' is found within the answer.
'until' could be 'to' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'to' is found within the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for to the last that I've seen before include "till you die!" , "Until death" , "Back to work, Hans Sachs" , "Presumably a rallying call to encourage cobbler" .)