stand shilly-shally

verb

To hesitate, vacillate or procrastinate.

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Meanings

verbstand shilly-shally (third-person singular simple present stands shilly-shally, present participle standing shilly-shally, simple past and past participle stood shilly-shally)

present singular third person stands shilly-shally · participle present standing shilly-shally · participle past stood shilly-shally · past stood shilly-shally

  1. idiomaticinformalTo hesitate, vacillate or procrastinate.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
hesitatestick
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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