dilly-dally (Meaning)

Wordnet

dilly-dally (v)

postpone doing what one should be doing

Webster

To loiter or trifle; to waste time.

The children were told not to dilly-dally on their way to school.
The teacher warned the students that they would lose recess if they dilly-dallied during class.
The boss grew impatient with the workers who were dilly-dallying around instead of getting their work done.
The shopper was frustrated by the long line at the checkout counter and began to dilly-dally around the store.
The dilly-dallying of the politician caused the public to lose confidence in his leadership.
The doctor advised the patient to dilly-dally around in bed and not to rush back to work too soon.
The dilly-dallying of the baseball pitcher caused the team to lose the game.
The dilly-dallying of the firefighters allowed the fire to spread and caused considerable damage.
The dilly-dallying of the waiter caused the customers to lose their patience and leave the restaurant.
The dilly-dallying of the tour guide caused the tourists to miss their bus and have to spend an extra night in the city.

postpone doing what one should be doingTo loiter or trifle; to waste time.

drag,delay, poke, linger, crawl, hang fire, drag one's heels, fall behind, lag, tarry

course, fly, rocket, race, scurry, whirl, dash, scurry, scoot, course

The children were told not to dilly-dally on their way to school.

The teacher warned the students that they would lose recess if they dilly-dallied during class.

The boss grew impatient with the workers who were dilly-dallying around instead of getting their work done.

The shopper was frustrated by the long line at the checkout counter and began to dilly-dally around the store.