Dally

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈdælɪ/
• US IPA: /ˈdæli/
• Rhymes: -æli

From Middle English dalyen, from Anglo-Norman delaier

Full definition of dally

Verb

1. To waste time in voluptuous pleasures, or in idleness; to trifle.
• CalamyWe have trifled too long already; it is madness to dally any longer.
• BarrowWe have put off God, and dallied with his grace.
2. To interchange caresses, especially of a sexual nature; to use fondling; to wanton; to sport (compare dalliance)
• ShakespeareNot dallying with a brace of courtesans.
3. To delay unnecessarily; to while away.
4. To wind the lasso rope around the saddle pummel after the roping of an animal
• 2003, Jameson Parker, An Accidental Cowboy, page 89:The end of the top rope he dallied around the gooseneck trailer hitch.

Synonyms

• dilly-dally

Possibly from Spanish "da le la vuelta !" ("twist it around !") by law of Hobson-Jobson.

Noun

1. Several wraps of rope around the saddle horn, used to stop animals in Team_Roping.
• 1947 - Bruce Kiskaddon, Rhymes and RanchesWhat matters is now if he tied hard and fast,
  Or tumbled his steer with a dally.