Crossword Genius

New dog's taken off lead to play casually (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

noodle

'play casually' is the definition.
(to noodle is to improvise musically)

I cannot understand how the rest of the clue works.

(Other definitions for noodle that I've seen before include "Simple person - in the soup?" , "Foolish person or slangy head" , "Piece of pasta for foolish person?" , "Head - simpleton - found in soup" , "Thin pasta strip" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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