Crossword Genius

Discussion that will probably produce nothing (4,4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

idle talk

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

'discussion that will probably produce nothing' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both related to communication as well as being singular nouns.
Perhaps there's an association between them I don't understand?

'discussion' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'discussion' could be 'talk' (talk is a kind of discussion) and 'talk' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'idle' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for idle talk that I've seen is " It's foolish to say".)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.
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