With commonest of plebeians engage in naughtiness, long dateless (4,3)
I believe the answer is:
sine die
'with' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are adverbs. Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'commonest of plebeians engage in naughtiness long dateless' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'in' is found in the answer.
'long' could be 'die' (to long for or to die for something is to crave it) and 'die' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'se' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for sine die that I've seen before include "Indefinitely (Latin, as applied to sporting suspensions)" , "Postponed indefinitely (L.)" , "indefinitely adjourned" , "With no appointed date for resumption (Latin)" , "with no date for a restart" .)