Crossword Genius

I had casually shown the way and did no work (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

idled

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

'did no work' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both to do with social activities as well as being past participle verbs.
Perhaps there's a link between them I don't understand?

'i had casually shown the way' is the wordplay.
'had casually' becomes 'd' (in contractions e.g. 'I'd', 'you'd' etc. I am not sure about the 'casually' bit.).
'shown the way' becomes 'led' (I've seen this before).
'i'+'d'+'led'='IDLED'

'and' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for idled that I've seen before include "sat back" , "Did lounge" , "Was lazy" , "Loitered" , "Of engine, just ticked over" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app