The Clue
Unfounded, as gossip (4 letter answer)
The Answer
IDLE
Tags
Notes
The answer IDLE is very common and appears about once every 38 puzzles.
Related Clues
Empty
Frivolous
Groundless
Inactive
Indolent
Ineffective
Jobless
Lallygag
Laze
Loafing
Nonworking
Pointless
At rest
Shiftless
Unemployed
Vain
Waiting
Aimless; pointless
Between assignments
Doing nothing
Just loafing
Just sitting
Kind of rumor
Not in harness
Not in use
Not working
Out of a job
Out of work
"As ___ as a painted ship . . . "
Run in neutral
Thumb-twiddling
Word for the rich
Like a "painted ship"
Not scheduled to compete
Not scheduled to play
Run a car in neutral
Taking a break from work
Just twiddling one's thumbs
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"