Origin of shilly-shally

1690–1700; orig. repeated question, shall I? shall I? later altered on the model of its synonym dilly-dally

OTHER WORDS FROM shilly-shally

shil·ly-shal·li·er, noun

Words nearby shilly-shally

shillelagh, shilling, shilling mark, shillong, shilluk, shilly-shally, shillyshally, shiloh, shilpit, shily, shim

Words related to shillyshally

hesitate, dawdle, waffle, seesaw, waver, fluctuate, dither, oscillate, differ, divide, modify, diverge, range, diversify, alter, distrust, suspect, impugn, rotate, vary

Example sentences from the Web for shillyshally

  • You've got to shillyshally, and then you've got to go it blind.

    April Hopes |William Dean Howells

  • Then a lot of shillyshally usually followed, Tom for and Dick and Harry against.

    Ulysses |James Joyce

British Dictionary definitions for shillyshally

Derived forms of shillyshally

shillyshallier, noun

Word Origin for shillyshally

C18: from shill I shall I, by reduplication of shall I