Lied about being out of work (4)

I believe the answer is:

idle

'out of work' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'lied about' is the wordplay.
'about' indicates an anagram.
'lied' is an anagram of 'IDLE'.

'being' is the link.

(Other definitions for idle that I've seen before include "Inert; lazy" , "Not in action or at work" , "Not doing much" , "Hang about doing nothing" , "lndolent" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Independent and the Evening Standard.

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