lollygag

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English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Unknown. Cited as American slang from 1934[1] and attested since at least 1889.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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lollygag (third-person singular simple present lollygags, present participle lollygagging, simple past and past participle lollygagged)

  1. (US) To dawdle; to be lazy or idle; to avoid necessary work or effort.
    Synonyms: dawdle, shirk, slack, procrastinate; see also Thesaurus:shirk
    • 1993, Secret of Mana (fantasy):
      Stop lollygagging! [] He ate ALL the ship's food! 'Zat your friend? Show him outta here!
  2. (US, dated, 19th-20th centuries) To fool around, especially sexually.
    • 1946, Captain C. F. Behrens, MC, USN, quoted in Time Magazine, volume 47, part 1, page 74, 1946:
      Lovemaking and lollygagging are hereby strictly forbidden. [] The holding of hands, osculation and constant embracing of WAVES, corpsmen or civilians and sailors or any combination of male and female personnel is a violation of naval discipline. []

Translations

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Noun

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lollygag (uncountable)

  1. (US) Silliness, nonsense.
    He likes to do his car up with blacked-out windows, and all that lollygag.

Translations

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References

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