"Shilly-shally" Quotes from Famous Books
 ... But Jos. Larkin told him that he had done all in his power 'to satisfy them of the bona fide character' of his reverend client's dealings from the first. But 'they still express themselves dissatisfied upon the point, and appear to suspect a disposition to shilly-shally.' I have said 'all I could to disabuse them of the unpleasant prejudice; but I think I should hardly be doing my duty if I were not to warn you that you will do wisely to exhibit no hesitation in the arrangements ...
— Wylder's Hand • J. Sheridan Le Fanu
... don't want any shilly-shally! Say yes or no. I have my clearance, and here comes the tug to take me down ...
— Golden Days for Boys and Girls, Vol. XII, Jan. 3, 1891 • Various
... whatever angle this Russian business is viewed, the policy of the Allies, if it can be dignified with that name, seems to be a compound of weakness, ineptitude, and shilly-shally."—Cf. The Westminster ...
— The Inside Story Of The Peace Conference • Emile Joseph Dillon
... going to shilly-shally, so I ast 'em downright if I should do it, and 'Oh, dear no,' says they, they couldn't think of such a thing; and little Dix says, 'Of course, as we promised, if we had succeeded in buying the mine for our company through your reports we should have given you the situation ...
— Sappers and Miners - The Flood beneath the Sea • George Manville Fenn
... then; but whatever you do, don't shilly-shally no longer. If wrestling was shilly-shallying, methinks you'd bear the bell, you or else Paul Carrick. Why, all his trouble comes on 't. He might have wed our Mercy a year agone for the asking. Shilly-shally belongs to us that be women. 'T ...
— The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 17, No. 104, June, 1866 • Various
... careless boy was Jack,— He would not work, and he would not play; And so poor, that the jacket on his back Hung in a ragged fringe alway; But 'twas shilly-shally, dilly-dally, From ...
— On the Tree Top • Clara Doty Bates
... if this statement should seem queer, Or set down in a hurry, Go, ask (if he will be sincere) His bookseller—John Murray. Come, say, how many have been sold, And don't stand shilly-shally, Of bound and lettered, red and gold, Well printed ...
— The Works of Lord Byron, Vol. 7. - Poetry • George Gordon Byron |
