I. adjective
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
an empty/idle threat (= one that is not sincere )
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She was not a woman to make idle threats.
an empty/idle/vain boast (= a false statement that something is good or possible )
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‘Making knowledge work’ is the university’s phrase, and it is no idle boast not a boast, but true .
an engine idles/ticks over (= runs slowly while the vehicle, machine etc is not moving )
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The taxi waited at the kerb, its engine idling noisily.
bone idle
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He’s just bone idle.
idle chatter
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gossip and idle chatter
idle curiosity (= wanting to know something for no particular reason )
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Out of idle curiosity, I looked out of the window.
idle gossip (= gossip not based on facts )
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She had no time for idle gossip.
stand empty/idle (= not being used )
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scores of derelict houses standing empty
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I’m not too thrilled with the way things stand the state that the situation is in at the moment.
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The evidence, as it stands as it is now , cannot be conclusive.
wild/idle speculation (= unlikely to be true )
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Such fears are wild speculation.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ NOUN
chatter
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And so it acquired its contemporary, pejorative connotation of idle chatter .
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Believe me, this is not idle chatter .
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As a family the Hendrys didn't hold with interrupting the serious business of eating with idle chatter .
curiosity
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Jess shivered, looking down at the upturned faces that stared at her with idle curiosity .
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It was only from idle curiosity that she went into Nannie's room.
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It's not just idle curiosity .
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And he asked me a lot of very pertinent questions which seemed to me more than idle curiosity .
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As we leave, I glance around to see if anyone shows more than idle curiosity .
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Perhaps it was nothing more than idle curiosity .
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It should be remembered that it is not idle curiosity that prompts them.
gossip
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She had no time for idle gossip as she had to do all the work herself.
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She's a great one for idle gossip though.
hand
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Satan, who finds work for idle hands to do, also fills idle minds with fruitless speculation.
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The devil makes work for idle hands . 30.
speculation
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But he had no time for idle speculation .
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Exactly when we might end our voyage was largely a matter of idle speculation .
talk
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Forgotten, or decided it had been idle talk , a vow impossible to realise.
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It was no place for idle talk then: there was too much action for gossip.
threat
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It is important to remember that logical consequences are never to be used as an idle threat .
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This was no idle threat from Rhodes, whose sole focus is winning.
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She was not a woman to make idle threats .
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It was an idle threat on Lavinia's part to hire a companion at all.
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She wished she could convince herself that what he'd said had merely been an idle threat .
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I knew it was just idle threats , but a lot wouldn't have - they'd have been distraught.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
the devil makes/finds work for idle hands
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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idle gossip
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Almost half the skilled workers in this country are now idle .
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Hundreds of workers sat idle on the factory floor waiting for the assembly line to start again.
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Most of the factory stood idle during the strike.
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Painting is a favorite hobby of the idle rich.
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That husband of hers is bone idle . No wonder the house is such a mess.
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The factory has been idle since May.
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The new machines may sit idle for months until they have been paid for.
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Wake up that idle young brother of yours and tell him it's time for school!
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Why is millions of pounds worth of state-of-the-art equipment lying idle ?
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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As Tallis ran towards him she thought, with idle horror, that he looked as if he was praying.
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Doctors are not idle men, Miss Thorne, and you are a fit woman.
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Exactly when we might end our voyage was largely a matter of idle speculation.
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Scientology is a cereal-box religion, and reading Ron is an idle diversion that quickly becomes annoying.
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She had no time for idle gossip as she had to do all the work herself.
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They closed a few plants and decided to use the idle machinery to make plastic chips for cigarette filters.
II. verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ NOUN
time
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For very many black parents, sport is considered to be idling your time away.
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The sergeant followed him in and found him smoking and put him on a discipline charge - idling his time .
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The men idled their time away on street corners or outside the pub, cadging a drink or a smoke.
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If I was talking to you as my pal, I'd get done for idling my time .
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That leaves Mr Hamed and his four workers idle much of the time , but they are fortunate compared to others.
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You'd be reported - three charges: failing to work your beat, idling your time , and gossiping.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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GM announced it would idle four assembly plants.
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My car starts easily, but it sounds rough when it idles.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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A skiff idling up beside a Sea and Shore Department cutter.
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At the kerb the taxi's diesel engine idled noisily as a passenger's face peered uncertainly through the window.
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Cars and pickups and vans idle around him.
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Frick idled his way along the corridor, looking in through various windows.
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Lily idled on the window seat.
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Ryan Klesko sat Wednesday, his smoldering bat idled by a sore right wrist.
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The clutch engaged, the engine idled in a terrible calm.