Listen for the funny word in it: "travail" (4,4)
I believe the answer is:
hard work
'travail' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'listen for the funny word in it' is the wordplay.
'listen for' becomes 'hark' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'the funny' indicates an anagram.
'in it' is an insertion indicator.
'word' anagrammed gives 'dwor'.
'hark' going around 'dwor' is 'HARD WORK'.
Can you help me to learn more?
I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution?
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