dally

See also: Dally

English

WOTD – 3 October 2008

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdæli/

• Audio (US):

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• Audio (AU):

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• Homophone: DALY
• Rhymes: -æli

Etymology 1

From Middle English dalyen, from Anglo-Norman delaier.

Verb

dally (third-person singular simple present dallies, present participle dallying, simple past and past participle dallied)

1. To waste time in trivial activities, or in idleness; to trifle.

   Synonyms: dawdle, dilly-dally; see also Thesaurus:loiter

   • a. 1692, Isaac Barrow, The Danger and Mischief of Delaying Repentance:

     […] after we by our presumptuous delays have put off God, and dallied with his grace; […]

   • a. 1726, Benjamin Calamy, “A Sermon Preach'd on Ash-Wednesday”, in J. Calamy, editor, Sermons Preached Upon Several Occasions:

     […] we have trifled too long already about a matter of such infinite moment, it is perfect Madness to dally any longer. […]

2. (transitive, intransitive) To caress, especially of a sexual nature; to fondle or pet

   Synonyms: feel up, grope, touch up; see also Thesaurus:fondle

   • c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iv], page 191, column 2:

     Not dallying with a Brace of Curtizans,

3. To delay unnecessarily; to while away.

   Synonym: kill time

Derived terms

• dilly-dally

Translations

to waste time

• Bulgarian: губя си времето (gubja si vremeto), играя си (igraja si)
• French: procrastiner (fr), lambiner (fr), lanterner (fr), traîner (fr)
• German: tändeln (de), trödeln (de)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: trastullarsi
• Maori: whakarunaruna
• Polish: bałamucić (pl) impf, zbałamucić (pl) pf
• Russian: тра́тить вре́мя впусту́ю impf (trátitʹ vrémja vpustúju), безде́льничать (ru) impf (bezdélʹničatʹ), прохлажда́ться (ru) impf (proxlaždátʹsja), развлека́ться (ru) impf (razvlekátʹsja), игра́ться (ru) impf (igrátʹsja), игра́ть (ru) impf (igrátʹ)

to interchange caresses

• Bulgarian: флиртувам (bg) (flirtuvam)
• French: flirter (fr)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Russian: флиртова́ть (ru) impf (flirtovátʹ), коке́тничать (ru) impf (kokétničatʹ)

to delay unnecessarily

• Bulgarian: отлагам (bg) (otlagam)
• French: lanterner (fr), lambiner (fr)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Russian: откла́дывать (ru) impf (otkládyvatʹ), отложи́ть (ru) pf or impf (otložítʹ) заде́рживать (ru) pf (zadérživatʹ) задержа́ть (ru) (zaderžátʹ)

Etymology 2

Possibly from Spanish dale la vuelta (“twist it around”) by law of Hobson-Jobson, from dale + la + vuelta.

Noun

dally (plural dallies)

1. Several wraps of rope around the saddle horn, used to stop animals in roping.
   • 1947, Bruce Kiskaddon, Rhymes and Ranches:

     What matters is now if he tied hard and fast, / Or tumbled his steer with a dally.

Verb

dally (third-person singular simple present dallies, present participle dallying, simple past and past participle dallied)

1. To wind the lasso rope (ie throw-rope) around the saddle horn (the saddle horn is attached to the pommel of a western style saddle) after the roping of an animal
   • 2003, Jameson Parker, An Accidental Cowboy, page 89:

     The end of the top rope he dallied around the gooseneck trailer hitch.

Etymology 3

Noun

dally (plural dallies)

1. (India) Alternative form of dolly (“offering of fruit or flowers”)
   • 1872, J. Frederick Pogson, Indian Gardening (page 19)

     We have known Mazagon and long-pod Beans to be thrown out of a dally, because they were full of seed!

Anagrams

• d'y'all, y'all'd