Sea Loiterer by Jon Sheffield

released October 11, 2016

IDLE

[adjective, idler, idlest.]

-not working or active; unemployed; doing nothing:
idle workers.

-not spent or filled with activity:
idle hours.

-not in use or operation; not kept busy:
idle machinery.

-habitually doing nothing or avoiding work; lazy.

-of no real worth, importance, or significance:
idle talk.

-having no basis or reason; baseless; groundless:
idle fears.

-frivolous; vain:
idle pleasures.

[verb (used without object), idled, idling.]

-to pass time doing nothing.

-to move, loiter, or saunter aimlessly:
to idle along the avenue.

-(of a machine, engine, or mechanism) to operate at a low speed, disengaged from the load.

[verb (used with object), idled, idling.]

-to pass (time) doing nothing (often followed by away):
to idle away the afternoon.

-to cause (a person) to be idle:
The strike idled many workers.

-to cause (a machine, engine, or mechanism) to idle:
I waited in the car while idling the engine.

[noun]

-the state or quality of being idle.

-the state of a machine, engine, or mechanism that is idling:
a cold engine that stalls at idle.

[Can be confused]

idle, idol, idyll (see synonym study at the current entry)

[Synonyms]

-sluggish. Idle, indolent, lazy, slothful apply to a person who is not active. To be idle is to be inactive or not working at a job. The word is sometimes derogatory, but not always, since one may be relaxing temporarily or may be idle through necessity: pleasantly idle on a vacation; to be idle because one is unemployed or because supplies are lacking.The indolent person is naturally disposed to avoid exertion: indolent and slow in movement; an indolent and contented fisherman.The lazy person is averse to exertion or work, and especially to continued application; the word is usually derogatory: too lazy to earn a living; incurably lazy. Slothful denotes a reprehensible unwillingness to carry one's share of the burden: so slothful as to be a burden on others. worthless, trivial, trifling. wasteful. See loiter. waste.

[Antonyms]

-busy, industrious. important, worthwhile.

[Contemporary Examples]

- The idle rich had driven down from Biarritz with their uniformed chauffeurs.

- Some airports, like in San Francisco and Seoul, even have attractions like museums and cultural centers to idle away the time.

- American companies routinely avoid taxation by moving their idle cash offshore.

- There are smiles, idle chit chat, and small courtesies evident as they enter and depart the courtroom.

[Historical Examples]

? It was idle ; a magic seems to shield a captive's leap for life.
The Cavalier George Washington Cable

- Neglected and idle, he did not grumble; straitened and poor, he did not mope.
The Sayings Of Confucius Confucius

- They must be kept in their place, and it was idle to imagine that there was any science in wood or iron work.'
The Works of Rudyard Kipling: One Volume Edition Rudyard Kipling

[British Dictionary definitions for idle]

idle
/ˈaɪdəl/
adjective
1.
unemployed or unoccupied; inactive
2.
not operating or being used
3.
(of money) not being used to earn interest or dividends
4.
not wanting to work; lazy
5.
(usually prenominal) frivolous or trivial: idle pleasures
6.
ineffective or powerless; fruitless; vain
7.
without basis; unfounded
verb
8.
when tr, often foll by away. to waste or pass (time) fruitlessly or inactively: he idled the hours away
9.
(intransitive) to loiter or move aimlessly
10.
(intransitive) (of a shaft, engine, etc) to turn without doing useful work
11.
(intransitive) (of an engine) to run at low speed with the transmission disengaged Also (Brit) tick over
12.
(transitive) ( US & Canadian) to cause to be inactive or unemployed


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