shilly and shally

A form of shilly-shally — To procrastinate.

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Meanings

verbshilly and shally (third-person singular simple present shillies and shallies, present participle shillying and shallying, simple past and past participle shillied and shallied)

present singular third person shillies and shallies · participle present shillying and shallying · participle past shillied and shallied · past shillied and shallied

  1. alternativeAlternative form of shilly-shally.

    Mummy shillied and shallied

    2007, Vivek Iyer, Samlee's Daughter, page 79
    1 more example

    We know how they dillied and they dallied and they shillied and they shallied until after her death

    1873, Dr. Kenealy's statement, July 30, the Tichborne trial http://books.google.com/books?id=ICgrAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA412
Cite this entry
APA

shilly and shally. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shilly%20and%20shally

MLA

“shilly and shally.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shilly%20and%20shally. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shilly and shally,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shilly%20and%20shally.

Source: shilly and shally on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.