Lie about with ale six times? It's idle gossip (6-6)
I believe the answer is:
tittle-tattle
'idle gossip' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'lie about with ale six times? it's' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'about' could be 'a' (abbreviation in Chambers) and 'a' is located in the answer.
'times?' could be 'tt' (two abbreviations for time) and 'tt' is located in the answer.
an anagram of 'lie' is 'ile' which is within the remaining letters.
'it' could be 't' (abbreviation. e.g. in 'tis) and 't' is found in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for tittle-tattle that I've seen before include "Idle chat - gossip" , "Idle chatter" , "Small talk" , "Trivial gossip" .)