shilly-shally
verb [intransitive] (informal, disapproving)Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they shilly-shally | |
he / she / it shilly-shallies | |
past simple shilly-shallied | |
past participle shilly-shallied | |
-ing form shilly-shallying |
to take a long time to do something, especially to make a decision synonym dither犹豫;踌躇 More Like This Reduplicative wordsReduplicative wordsWord Originmid 18th cent.: originally as shill I, shall I, reduplication of shall I?