dilly-dally

British  

/ ˌdɪlɪˈdælɪ /

verb

1. informal (intr) to loiter or vacillate

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Etymology

Origin of dilly-dally

C17: by reduplication from _dally

Explanation

When you dilly-dally, you dawdle or waste time. If a tourist dilly-dallies too long at the Eiffel Tower, they might miss their train to Biarritz. Dilly-dally comes from the verb dally, which originally meant "to chat idly" and was later defined as "to linger or loiter." The dilly was added to give the word some alliterative flare. When people dilly-dally, they procrastinate or drag their feet: "I'm leaving for the airport at ten o' clock sharp, so don't dilly-dally!"