Work out one day's been wasted (or two) (5)
I believe the answer is:
deuce
'two' is the definition.
(synonyms)
I don't understand the rest of the clue.
(Other definitions for deuce that I've seen before include "with equal score" , "40 - 40 (tennis)" , "Level of tennis" , "Forty all in tennis" , "Devil" .)