shilly and shally

Verb

shilly-shally (third-person singular simple present shilly-shallies, present participle shilly-shallying, simple past and past participle shilly-shallied)

1. (informal) To procrastinate.
   • "Why, you sees [sic], Captain, your time has come, and you can't shilly-shally any longer. You have had your full swing; your years are up, and you must die like a man!"1836, Baron Edward Bulwer Lytton Lytton, Paul Clifford in The works of Edward Lytton Bulwer, esq. in two volumes, Volume 1, Page 633
2. (informal) To vacillate.
   • The shilly-shallying performance on domestic issues that has marked Bush's first two years in office is not the result of ineptitude.1991 January 7, Michael Duffy, “The Two George Bushes: At Home—A Case of Doing Nothing”, in Time

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