Skip to content

dilly-dally

verb

  1. to act with trifling vacillation
L346878 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ˈdɪliˌdæli/

verb

Etymology: Reduplication of dally.

  1. To dawdle; to waste time; to procrastinate.

    It is something to have been an old soldier, but more still to have been a doctor. There is no time to dilly-dally in our work.

    “I wouldn't dilly-dally long if I were you,” said Harkless, and his advice seemed good to the shell-men.