Like some wine drunk by crook helping holy work (12)
I believe the answer is:
consecration
'holy work' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both acts as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe there's a link between them I don't understand?
'like some wine drunk by crook helping' is the wordplay.
'like some wine drunk' becomes 'sec' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'by' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'crook' becomes 'con'.
'helping' becomes 'ration' (I've seen this before).
'sec' put after 'con' is 'consec'.
'consec'+'ration'='CONSECRATION'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for consecration that I've seen before include "ecclesiastical process" , "church establishment" , "Act of rendering holy" , "Making sacred" .)