Crossword Genius

You have to say god is lazy (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

idle

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'lazy' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)

'you have to say god' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'god' could be 'd' (abbreviation in various Latin phrases) and 'd' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'ile' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'is' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for idle that I've seen before include "Good-for-nothing" , "Inactive - lied (anag)" , "Not used to work" , "Futile" , "Trivial" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times and The Sunday Times.
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