dilly-dally

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   informal: to waste time through indecision, delay, or aimless activity

   We cannot dilly-dally if we want to catch the last train.

A playful reduplication of dally, 'to waste time or linger.' The alternating vowels give the verb an imitative, dismissive rhythm similar to shilly-shally.

Topics

External links

• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary
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