Shilly-shally
adj, noun, verb, slang ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 Indecision; irresolution. informal
- 1 To procrastinate. informal
""Why, you sees [sic], Captain, your time has come, and you can't shilly-shally any longer. You have had your full swing; your years are up, and you must die like a man!""
- 2 To vacillate. informal
"The shilly-shallying performance on domestic issues that has marked Bush's first two years in office is not the result of ineptitude."
- 1 Indecisive; wavering. informal
"Irwine would think him a shilly-shally fellow ever after."
Example
More examples""Why, you sees [sic], Captain, your time has come, and you can't shilly-shally any longer. You have had your full swing; your years are up, and you must die like a man!""
Etymology
A reduplication of shall I? An older form was Shill-I-shall-I.
Related phrases
More for "shilly-shally"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.