Lay academic again cancels start of work (7)
I believe the answer is:
profane
'lay' is the definition.
('profane' can be similar in meaning to 'lay')
'academic again cancels start of work' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'academic' could be 'prof' and 'prof' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'ane' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of clue (or it may be nonsense).
(Other definitions for profane that I've seen before include "Secular; blasphemous" , "Irreverent - pagan" , "Secular, not religious" , "vulgar" , "Impious" .)