lollygag

English

WOTD – 24 April 2006

Alternative forms

• lallygag

Etymology

Unknown

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlɒlɪɡæɡ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Verb

lollygag (third-person singular simple present lollygags, present participle lollygagging, simple past and past participle lollygagged)

1. (US) To dawdle; to be lazy or idle; to avoid necessary work or effort.
2. (US, dated, 19th-20th centuries) To fool around, especially sexually.
   • 1946, Captain C. F. Behrens, MC, USN, quoted in Time Magazine, volume 47, part 1, page 74, 1946:

     Lovemaking and lollygagging are hereby strictly forbidden. [...] The holding of hands, osculation and constant embracing of WAVES, corpsmen or civilians and sailors or any combination of male and female personnel is a violation of naval discipline. [...]

Synonyms

• (dawdle, avoid work) dawdle, shirk, slack, procrastinate

Translations

dawdle; to avoid work

• Czech: lelkovat (cs), chytat lelky (cs)
• Dutch: lanterfanten (nl), treuzelen (nl)
• French: paresser (fr)

• German: trödeln (de), schlampen (de)
• Russian: бездельничать (ru) (bezdelʹničatʹ)

Noun

lollygag (uncountable)

1. (US) Silliness, nonsense.

   He likes to do his car up with blacked-out windows, and all that lollygag.

Translations

silliness

• French: absurdité (fr) f