I entered work almost after crook was in passage (7)
I believe the answer is:
conduit
'passage' is the definition.
(conduit is a kind of passage)
'i entered work almost after crook was' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'i' is present in the answer.
'crook' could be 'con' and 'con' is located in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'in' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for conduit that I've seen before include "Channel for wiring" , "Channel for conveying liquids" , "Duct" , "Channel for conveying liquid" , "Pipe for fluid - means of access" .)