shilly-shally

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to hesitate, waver, or waste time because one is unable or unwilling to make a decision

   The committee continued to shilly-shally until the funding deadline had passed.

2. 2
   adj

   indecisive, wavering, or evasive

   His shilly-shally response left both sides unsure of his position.

3. 3
   noun

   indecision or delay caused by repeated hesitation

   After weeks of shilly-shally, the board finally approved the merger.

Simplified etymology

Shilly-shally arose in the early 18th century from a mocking expansion of the repeated question “Shall I?” into the rhyming phrase “shill I, shall I?” It came to describe indecision and follows the same rhyming tendency seen in dilly-dally and willy-nilly.

A reduplicated alteration of the question "Shall I?", imitating someone who repeatedly asks whether to act instead of deciding. An older form was shill-I-shall-I. The wavering sound pattern gave rise to the verb and then to adjective and noun uses.

Topics

External links

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• Cambridge Dictionary
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