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Etymology
Origin of shilly-shally
First recorded in 1690–1700; originally repeated question, shall I? shall I?; later altered on the model of its synonym dilly-dally
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He did not shilly-shally in welcoming the crowd.
From New York Times ● May 18, 2010
For George Norris on the stump does not shilly-shally about getting himself elected.
From Time Magazine Archive
Whenever the German army fell into a dangerous, disorganized or shilly-shally state, we always looked for the skillful hand of .
From Time Magazine Archive
He had resolved to go, and had no right to shilly-shally, and change his mind.
From The Broom-Squire by Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
And I'm not going to shilly-shally about it.
From Still Jim by Morrow, Honoré
As the young man shilly-shallies, the father enters into several schemes to entrap him into a declaration of love; but all his schemes are abortive.
From Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama A Revised American Edition of the Reader's Handbook, Vol. 3 by Brewer, Ebenezer Cobham
The puck didn’t hover above the board, exactly, but shilly-shallied back and forth.
From The New Yorker ● Aug. 9, 2016
Monsieur," he answered, "I have shilly-shallied long; but I am planted squarely at last with my father on the king's side.
From Helmet of Navarre by Runkle, Bertha
I've shilly-shallied around you for months, protesting my love, and I haven't gotten anywhere.
From The Valley of the Giants by Kyne, Peter B. (Peter Bernard)
That woman cost me a pot of money, Moorpark, ’pon my soul she did, for I never shilly-shallied.
From A Double Knot by Fenn, George Manville
He shilly-shallied from one car to another asking rather stupid questions for the best part of two hours.
From Men of Affairs by Pertwee, Roland
We’ve been shilly-shallying around on this since the Eisenhower administration.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2021
At a time of endless half-truths and moral shilly-shallying, Morris's eccentric integrity shines out.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 27, 2010
Red-faced and quizzical, he has upbraided the Justice Department's lawyers time & again for "shilly-shallying," "going backwards," confusing the issues and wasting the court's time.
From Time Magazine Archive
We'll share the responsibility for government policy, but we won't share in shilly-shallying.
From Time Magazine Archive
In addition to the qualities mentioned there was entire absence of the shilly-shallying practices many actors delight to indulge, in their efforts to secure applause or attract the admiration of susceptible females.
From The Truth About America by Money, Edward
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
