Crossword Genius

Coming across as uninterested in where to explore ideas (8,5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

sounding board

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'where to explore ideas' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I can't see how one could define the other.

'coming across as uninterested in' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'as' could be 'so' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'so' is present in the answer.
'in' is found in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for sounding board that I've seen before include "means of testing idea" , "Means of testing opinion" , "One whose opinion is sought" , "Recipient of experimental ideas perhaps" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.
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