Idle, without designated period to work? (9)
I believe the answer is:
shiftless
'idle' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'without designated period to work?' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'without' could be 'less' (I've seen this in another clue) and 'less' is found in the answer.
'period' could be 'shift' (shift is a kind of period) and 'shift' is present in the answer.
No letters remain.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for shiftless that I've seen before include "Like an automatic American car" , "Lazy - indolent" , "lacking in initiative" , "Idle" .)