Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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
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
For George Norris on the stump does not shilly-shally about getting himself elected.
From Time Magazine Archive
"I don't believe, myself," said Mr. Tallmadge, with decision, "in haphazard, shilly-shally ways of raising children, and leaving it to them to see what they'll take to."
From The Open Question a tale of two temperaments by Elizabeth Robins
“Yes, they were all shilly-shally from first to last,” continued the old sailor, warming up to his theme.
From Crown and Anchor Under the Pen'ant by John B. Greene
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 Ebenezer Cobham Brewer
The puck didn’t hover above the board, exactly, but shilly-shallied back and forth.
From The New Yorker ● Aug. 9, 2016
They shilly-shallied, and wrote endless letters—and at last they sent him off—the day she died.
From Helbeck of Bannisdale — Volume I by Mrs. Humphry Ward
I’m not going to be shilly-shallied with any more.
From The Sapphire Cross by George Manville Fenn
The king, unwilling to offend any one, shilly-shallied.
From A Political and Social History of Modern Europe V.1. by Carlton J. H. Hayes
If he had shilly-shallied like that, a nice mess he would have made of his life!
From The Whirligig of Time by Wayland Wells Williams
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
President, whom they nominated without shilly-shallying, would be Arkansas' Democratic Governor Orval E. Faubus.
From Time Magazine Archive
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
And at last he made up his mind there should be no more shilly-shallying.
From A Little Girl in Old Philadelphia by Amanda Minnie Douglas
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
