In the 18th century, the Swedish government made coffee and its paraphernalia (including cups and dishes) illegal for its supposed ties to rebellious sentiment.
DALLY
dally, trifle, play
(verb) consider not very seriously; “He is trifling with her”; “She plays with the thought of moving to Tasmania”
dally, dawdle
(verb) waste time; “Get busy--don’t dally!”
dally, toy, play, flirt
(verb) behave carelessly or indifferently; “Play about with a young girl’s affection”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology 1
Proper noun
Dally (plural Dallys)
A surname.
Statistics
• According to the 2010 United States Census, Dally is the 21371st most common surname in the United States, belonging to 1225 individuals. Dally is most common among White (86.29%) individuals.
Etymology 2
Contraction of "Dalmatian Coast", from where many Croatian emigrants originated. Also spelt "Dallie"
Noun
Dally (plural Dallies)
(colloquial New Zealand English) A New Zealand person of Croatian or other Balkan descent.
Anagrams
• d'y'all, y'all'd
Etymology 1
Verb
dally (third-person singular simple present dallies, present participle dallying, simple past and past participle dallied)
To waste time in trivial activities, or in idleness; to trifle.
(ambitransitive) To caress, especially of a sexual nature; to fondle or pet
To delay unnecessarily; to while away.
Synonyms
• (to waste time): dawdle, dilly-dally; see also loiter
• (to caress): feel up, grope, touch up; see also fondle
• (delay unnecessarily): kill time
Etymology 2
Noun
dally (plural dallies)
Several wraps of rope around the saddle horn, used to stop animals in roping.
Verb
dally (third-person singular simple present dallies, present participle dallying, simple past and past participle dallied)
To wind the lasso rope (ie throw-rope) around the saddle horn (the saddle horn is attached to the pommel of a western style saddle) after the roping of an animal
Anagrams
• d'y'all, y'all'd
Source: Wiktionary
Dal"ly, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Dallied; p. pr. & vb. n. Dallying.] Etym: [OE. , dailien; cf. Icel. pylja to talk, G. dallen, dalen, dahlen, to trifle, talk nonsense, OSw. tule a droll or funny man; or AS. dol foolish, E. dull.]
1. To waste time in effeminate or voluptuous pleasures, or in idleness; to fool away time; to delay unnecessarily; to tarry; to trifle. We have trifled too long already; it is madness to dally any longer. Calamy. We have put off God, and dallied with his grace. Barrow.
2. To interchange caresses, especially with one of the opposite sex; to use fondling; to wanton; to sport. Not dallying with a brace of courtesans. Shak. Our aerie . . . dallies with the wind. Shak.
Dal"ly, v. t.
Definition: To delay unnecessarily; to while away. Dallying off the time with often skirmishes. Knolles.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
16 April 2025
RACY
(adjective) marked by richness and fullness of flavor; “a rich ruby port”; “full-bodied wines”; “a robust claret”; “the robust flavor of fresh-brewed coffee”
Coffee Trivia
