Cryptic crossword clue
Not wholly uncorked wine, perhaps, is unusually like hard work 7

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word OPEROSE

I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
O
P
E
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O
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Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "like hard work/like hard work" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case like hard work/like hard work = operose.
The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.
This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.

What does OPEROSE mean?

OPEROSE adjective
  1. Of a person: busy, industrious, or painstaking.
  2. Made with or requiring a lot of labour; painstaking, laborious.
  3. Tedious, wearisome.

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