As a joke, get out the cruet with the hole in it (8)
I believe the answer is:
puncture
'the hole in it' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'as a joke get out the cruet' is the wordplay.
'as a joke' becomes 'pun' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'get out' indicates anagramming the letters (the letters get out of order).
'cruet' with letters rearranged gives 'cture'.
'pun'+'cture'='PUNCTURE'
'with' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for puncture that I've seen before include "Motoring mishap" , "Tyre problem" , "Perforation disliked by motorists" , "Put a hole in" , "deflating experience" .)