shilly-shally

This interesting term is a corruption of "Shill I? Shall I? ". Shill being a weak form of shall.

Here are the 3 main dictionary definitions, and below a wonderful list...

1. To procrastinate.

2. To be unable to come to a decision; vacillate.

3. To spend time on insignificant things; dawdle.


One way that phrases are built up uses a form of "reduplication" in which a syllable, word or phrase is repeated, but with a single vowel sound changed.

How many of these do you know?

Bali belly (traveler's sickness in Indonesia)
bibble babble (babble)
Cancun (a resort town in Mexico)
chit chat (idle conversation)
chitter chatter
clip clop (an imitation of the sound of a horse on a street)
criss cross (an interlacing pattern)
dilly dally (to dawdle)
Dig Dug
ding dang (a mild expletive)
ding dong (a mild expletive; the sound of a bell; a fool)
fiddle faddle (a dismissive exclamation)
flim flam (the deception used to implement a fraud)
flip flop (a sandal; to reverse oneself)
gewgaw (a gaudy trinket)
giff-gaff (give and take; banter)
group grope (a sex party)
hip hop (a slightly less shrill version of rap)
hippity hoppity (describing a hopping movement)
Hong Kong (a port city in China)
jim jam (to jam; to jazz up)
the jim-jams (delirium tremens; the shakes; pajamas)
jing jang (the vagina)
jipajapa (a South American plant that looks like a palm)
kim kam (astray; awry; out of order)
King Kong (our hero)
Kit Kat (a club name; a candy bar)
kittle cattle (difficult creatures to handle)
knickknack (a curio or keepsake)
Lib-Lab (an alliance between the Liberal and Labor parties)
mishmash (a formless mess)
mixty-maxty (muddled together)
nid nod (to allow the head to drop repeatedly from drowsiness)
pilpul (subtle rabbinic hairsplitting argumentation)
ping pong (table tennis)
pish pash (an East Indian rice broth made with bits of meat)
pishery pashery (disparaging, trifling talk)
pitter patter (supposedly, the sound of little feet)
pussy posse (the vice squad)
riff raff (a disreputable group of people)
rimble ramble (nonsense)
riprap
shilly shally (to dawdle)
shim sham (a feeling of unease or fear)
ship shape (in order; neat)
sing song (to speak in a way that emphasizes sound over meaning)
skimble skamble (confusingly rambling)
slipslop (a blundering misuse of a word)
spit spot (fine, excellent)
splish splash (imitation of splashing water sounds)
teeter totter (a children's amusement, a see saw)
tew taw (an implement for breaking hemp or flax)
Tic Tac (a candy)
tick tock (imitation of the sound of a clock)
ticky tacky (vulgar and banal)
tip top (first rate)
tisty tosty (a ball of cowslips)
tittle tattle (idle chatter; gossip)
whimsy whamsy (a whim)
wig wag (a kind of signaling flag)
wiggle waggle (a musical fairground amusement; to sway)
willie wellie (a condom: a "wellie" is a sort of rubber boot)
wing wang (a joking term for dollars)
wing wong (a thingmajig)
wishy washy (indecisive)
xiraxara
ying yang
zig zag (characterized by repeated changes in direction)