The Clue
Twiddling thumbs (4 letter answer)
The Answer
IDLE
Tags
Notes
The answer IDLE is very common and appears about once every 38 puzzles.
Related Clues
Fainéant
Futile
Groundless
Inactive
Indolent
Jobless
Laze
At liberty
Lounge
Mothballed
Pointless
Recumbent
At rest
Shiftless
Slothful
Unemployed
Unoccupied
Vain
Waiting
Worthless
Aimless; pointless
Between jobs
Doing nothing
Going nowhere
Just sitting
Kind of fancy
Kind of threat
Not active
Not in use
Nothing doing?
Run in neutral
Type of chatter
Wait at the light
Without a job
Auto mechanic's concern
Like some hands
Like some rumors
Like some thoughts
No longer working
Not going anywhere
Not kept busy
Run a car in neutral
"___ hands are the devil's tools"
Kind of hands that are "the devil's playthings"
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"