Delay : Dally

Fri May 9 17:30:48 CDT 2008

Just a coincidence but this pynchon-l ship is -----
 1860 MAURY Phys. Geog. Sea XV. §651 One vessel..dallying in the Doldrums
for days.

to dally (OED)
   1. intr. To talk or converse lightly or idly; to chat. Obs. 

c1300 K. Alis. 6991 Dysers dalye, reisons craken. c1340 Gaw. & Gr. Knt.
1114 ay dronken & daylyeden, & dalten vntytel. Ibid. 1253 To daly with
derely your daynte wordez. c1440 Promp. Parv. 112 Dalyyn or talkyn,
fabulor, confabulor, colloquor.
2. To act or speak sportively, make sport, amuse oneself; to toy, sport,
play with, esp. in the way of amorous caresses; to flirt, wanton. 

c1440 Promp. Parv. 112 Dallyn, or hallesyn, amplector. 1573 G. HARVEY
Letter-bk. (Camden) 105 Did you never see a flye in ye nighte Dally so
longe with ye candle lighte. 1594 SHAKES. Rich. III, I. iii. 265 Our Ayerie
buildeth in the Cedars top, And dallies with the winde. 1621-51 BURTON
Anat. Mel. II. ii. IV. 274 Little else..but to dally with their cats. 1685
Roxb. Ball. VII. 473, I have a Chamber here of my own, Where we may kiss
and dally alone. 1842 TENNYSON Day-Dream, Revival iv, The
chancellor..dallied with his golden chain. 1883 R. NOEL in Academy No. 577.
365/3 Leaping lambs and lovers dallying.
    b. To play with a thing or subject which one does not intend to take
seriously; to coquet, flirt, esp. with temptation and the like. 

1548 UDALL, etc. Erasm. Par. Pref. 18 The auncient doctoures..doe in
expounyng the allegories, seme oft tymes to playe and dalie with it. 1637
MILTON Lycidas 153 For, so to interpose a little ease Let our frail
thoughts dally with false surmise. 1642 ROGERS Naaman 167 Dally not with
her, as Eve with the serpent. 1774 FLETCHER Fict. & Gen. Creed viii. Wks.
1795 III. 343 When we dally with temptation. 1780 COWPER Table-t. 544 To
dally much with subjects mean and low. 1855 PRESCOTT Philip II, I. II.
xiii. 290 Men..who..had been led to dally with the revolution in its
infancy..now turned coldly away.

   3. To trifle with a person or thing under the guise of serious action;
to play with mockingly. 

1548 HALL Chron. 225 But the Duke of Burgoyne dalied and dissimuled with
all parties..gevyng them faire wordes. 1579 TOMSON Calvin's Serm. Tim.
440/1 We see a great number yt wold dallie thus with God. 1600 HOLLAND Livy
II. xxiii. 59a, Then thought the people..they were mocked and dallied
withall [eludi]. 1614 BP. HALL Recoll. Treat. 697 If wee feared the Lord,
durst wee dally with his name? 1706 ADDISON Rosamond III. iii, Why will you
dally with my pain? 1722 DE FOE Relig. Courtsh. I. i. (1840) 17 Why do you
trifle and dally so long with a thing of such consequence?

    b. trans. to dally out: to trifle with, elude. 

1548 HALL Chron. 146 The matter was wynked at, and dalyed out. 1563-87 FOXE
A. & M. (1684) I. 173/1 He would suffer no man..to dally out [eludere] his
laws without condign punishment. 1611 SPEED Hist. Gt. Brit. IX. xvii. 112
But Lewis..dallied out Edward with shewes of firme faith, till hee had
effected the thing hee went about. 1618 BOLTON Florus II. ii, Skill to
shift aside Oares, and to dally out the strokes of beake-heads, by yare and
ready turning.

    4. intr. To spend time idly or frivolously; to linger, loiter; to
delay. 

1538 BALE Thre Lawes 241 Ye are disposed to dallye. 1594 WILLOBIE Avisa
(1605) 28 The poesie..bids you doe, but dallie not. Doe so, sweete heart,
and doe not stray, For dangers grow from fond delay. 1600 HEYWOOD 1 Edw.
IV, Wks. 1874 I. 32 We dallied not, but made all haste we could. 1647 R.
STAPYLTON Juvenal xvi. 285 If, being my debtour, he..stand Dallying to pay
me. 1822 W. IRVING Braceb. Hall i. 6 Lest when he find me dallying
along..he may hurry ahead. 1860 MAURY Phys. Geog. Sea XV. §651 One
vessel..dallying in the Doldrums for days.

    5. trans. To put off or defer by trifling. In earlier use to dally off;
cf. dally out in 3b. Obs. 

1574 WHITGIFT Def. Answ. i. Wks. (1851) I. 165 This is but a shift to dally
off a matter which you cannot answer. 1589 GREENE Menaphon (Arb.) 50 Fates
and Fortune dallying a dolefull Catastrophe. 1611 SPEED Hist. Gt. Brit. IX.
xxi. 19 The Councell of Flanders..dallied him off with many Excuses. 1616
Marlowe's Faust. Wks. (Rtldg.) 126/1 But wherefore do I dally my revenge?
1633 T. ADAMS Exp. 2 Peter ii. 2 Neither dally this execution. 1821 CLARE
Vill. Minstr. I. 34 Some long, long dallied promise to fulfil.

    6. To play or toy with; to influence or move by dalliance. Obs. 

1597 DANIEL Civ. Wars II. xix, Pleas'd with vain shewes, and dallied with
delyt. 1627-77 FELTHAM Resolves I. xxv. 44 Like a cunning Courtizan, that
dallies the Ruffian to undo himself. 1677 GILPIN Dæmonol. (1867) 70 Mark
Antony by this means became a slave to Cleopatra..and so dallied himself
into his ruin.

    7. to dally away: to consume or spend (time) in dalliance or by
dallying. 

1685 Roxb. Ball. VII. 473 Now when the night was dalli'd away..She 'rose
and left me snoring in bed. c1765 T. FLLOYD Tartarian T. (1785) 90/1 They
had dallied away a part of the night. 1828 SCOTT F.M. Perth viii, He asked
them what they meant by dallying away precious time.

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