Afraid lever inside is not working (4)

I believe the answer is:

idle

'is not working' is the definition.
(idle means doing no work)

'afraid lever inside' is the wordplay.
'inside' says the answer is hidden in the clue.
'IDLE' is hidden within 'afraid lever'.

(Other definitions for idle that I've seen before include "Loaf" , "Inactive - lied (anag)" , "without purpose" , "Useless" , "Lied about doing nothing" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.

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