dally
C1Literary, formal, or somewhat old-fashioned.
Definition
Meaning
To waste time; to act or move slowly or idly.
To engage in a casual, playful, or flirtatious manner, often without serious intent; to treat something lightly or with casual consideration.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Often implies leisure, delay, or frivolity; can carry a negative connotation of irresponsibility or a playful connotation of flirtation.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Usage is similar in both varieties. The flirtatious sense is slightly more literary.
Connotations
In both, primarily negative for wasting time, but can be neutral or playful for casual flirtation.
Frequency
Low frequency in both, but slightly more common in British English in literary contexts.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
dally with [someone/something]dally [time] awaydally over [something]Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “dally with death”
- “dally with someone's affections”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Rare; if used, implies wasting time or indecisiveness, e.g., 'The board cannot dally over this merger.'
Academic
Rare; may appear in literary or historical analysis.
Everyday
Occasional; typically in warnings or descriptions of flirtation, e.g., 'Don't dally on the way home.'
Technical
Not used.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- Don't dally, or you'll miss the last train.
- He dallied with the notion of moving to Cornwall.
American English
- We can't dally if we want to catch the flight.
- She dallied with him for a summer before settling down.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- Don't dally, we are late.
- He dallied in the park.
- She dallied over her coffee, enjoying the morning.
- The children dallied on the way to school.
- He accused her of dallying with his emotions.
- The government must not dally on this important issue.
- The negotiators dallied at the summit, achieving little.
- She dallied with the idea of a career change for years.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of 'dally' sounding like 'daily'—if you dally daily, you waste time every day.
Conceptual Metaphor
TIME IS A RESOURCE; wasting it is dallying. LOVE/IDEAS ARE PLAYTHINGS; to dally with them is to treat them casually.
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Не путать с 'делать' (to do).
- Может означать как 'медлить', так и 'флиртовать', что требует контекста.
- Не переводить буквально в устойчивых выражениях, например, 'dally with death' — 'играть со смертью'.
Common Mistakes
- Using 'dally' transitively without a particle (e.g., 'He dallied the time' instead of 'He dallied the time away').
- Confusing 'dally' (verb) with 'dalliance' (noun).
- Overusing in informal speech where 'waste time' or 'flirt' is more natural.
Practice
Quiz
What does 'dally' mean in the sentence: 'He dallied with the idea of becoming an actor.'?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
'Dally' implies wasting time in a leisurely, often irresponsible or playful way, while 'delay' is more neutral, indicating a postponement for any reason.
Yes, it can mean to engage in casual, flirtatious behavior without serious commitment, e.g., 'He dallied with several suitors.'
It is somewhat formal or literary and is not common in casual everyday speech; it may sound old-fashioned to some.
The related noun is 'dalliance', meaning a brief or casual involvement, especially in romance or an activity.