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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
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
So make haste and determine about the boy’s dress, for I cannot stay shilly-shally here all day.”
From Samboe; or, The African Boy by Mary Ann Hedge
I am sick of shilly-shally, May they—metaphorically, For, of course, I don't mean murder, Nothing could be—well, absurder— May they spifflicate our foes.
From Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 98, February 22nd, 1890 by Various
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
He shilly-shallied from one car to another asking rather stupid questions for the best part of two hours.
From Men of Affairs by Roland Pertwee
I’m not going to be shilly-shallied with any more.
From The Sapphire Cross by George Manville Fenn
We talked and shilly-shallied till Sir Charles grew angry.
From An African Millionaire Episodes in the Life of the Illustrious Colonel Clay by Grant Allen
She had shilly-shallied for a while, and then, to his rapturous surprise, she had said "Yes."
From Jane Oglander by Marie Belloc Lowndes
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
Like others caught in the middle, Lyuh did a lot of shilly-shallying.
From Time Magazine Archive
Its content was kept secret, but it was possible that the President made it clear that if Tito expected U.S. aid, there must be no more shilly-shallying.
From Time Magazine Archive
All through the season they were in each other's pockets, and during Goodwood week, after a period of sentimental shilly-shallying, they disappeared for ever and a day.
From A Crime of the Under-seas by Guy Newell Boothby
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.
