Claim money round about the end of August (8)
I believe the answer is:
pretence
'end of august' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both acts as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'claim money round about the' is the wordplay.
'claim money' becomes 'pence' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'round' indicates putting letters inside.
'about' becomes 're' ('re' means regarding or about).
'the' becomes 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects).
're'+'t'='ret'
'pence' going around 'ret' is 'PRETENCE'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for pretence that I've seen before include "False show hiding reality" , "Act of imagination" , "Acting of making something appear true when it's not" , "Sham" , "Erect pen (anag) - charade" .)