The Clue
Lay off (4 letter answer)
The Answer
IDLE
Tags
Notes
The answer IDLE is very common and appears about once every 38 puzzles.
Related Clues
Futile
Groundless
Inactive
Jobless
Lallygag
Lazy
Leisured
At liberty
Loafing
Mothballed
Otiose
Relaxing
Still
Trifling
Unemployed
Unoccupied
Unused
Vain
Goofing off
Not in operation
Not in use
Not at work
Not working
Nothing doing?
On one's duff
Out of work
Run in place
Thumb-twiddling
Like a "painted ship"
Like some chatter
Like some hands
Like some rumors
No longer working
Not going anywhere
Not kept busy
Run without moving
Away from a chat program, say
Definition
IDLE as a noun:
1. the state of an engine or other mechanism that is idling; "the car engine was running at idle"
IDLE as a verb:
1. (idle, tick over) = run disconnected or idle; "the engine is idling"
2. (idle, laze, slug, stagnate) = be idle; exist in a changeless situation; "The old man sat and stagnated on his porch"; "He slugged in bed all morning"
IDLE as an adjective:
1. not in action or at work; "an idle laborer"; "idle drifters"; "the idle rich"; "an idle mind"
2. (baseless, groundless, idle, unfounded, unwarranted, wild) = without a basis in reason or fact; "baseless gossip"; "the allegations proved groundless"; "idle fears"; "unfounded suspicions"; "unwarranted jealousy"
3. (idle, unused) = not in active use; "the machinery sat idle during the strike"; "idle hands"
4. (idle, light) = silly or trivial; "idle pleasure"; "light banter"; "light idle chatter"
5. (idle, loose) = lacking a sense of restraint or responsibility; "idle talk"; "a loose tongue"
6. (dead, idle) = not yielding a return; "dead capital"; "idle funds"
7. (idle, jobless, out of work) = not having a job; "idle carpenters"; "jobless transients"; "many people in the area were out of work"