Citations:lallygag

English citations of lallygag

Horseplay, fooling around.
- 1862 August, Harper's Magazine:
  Mr. Biggs paused and turned the flesh of the succulent lobster over with his finger. The gentleman inside addressed him: ‘Try er lobstaw, bossy?’ ‘Ain't got no money,’ said Mr. Biggs, still fingering the morsels. ‘Oh, come now, none o' that ere lallygag,’ responded the gentleman.
A layabout, one who lallygags.
- 1893, Bill Nye, Bill Nye and Boomerang: Or, The Tale of a Meek-eyed Mule, and Some Other Literary Gems, W. B. Conkey Company, page 71:
  […] upset the tripod, loosen the crown sheet a little, so that the obvious duplex will work easily in the lallygag eccentric, and turn on steam. […]
- 1913, Gelett Burgess, Love in a Hurry, Bobbs-Merrill Company, page 8:
  ["]Why, you ought to have been ready half an hour ago!" she said, pushing him into his room fondly. "You're a lackadaisical lallygag, that's what you are! Do you realize how much you've got to do to-day, Mr. Bonistelle?"

(See lollygag.) To dawdle; to be lazy or idle; to avoid necessary work or effort.
- 1955, Agnes Newton Keith, Bare Feet in the Palace, Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown and Company, page 125:
  And don't you dare to lallygag about so that you don't get home till after dark, or I'll have every policeman in Parañaque out after you! Now, take care of yourselves, all of you.
(archaic, US) To pet, kiss, or otherwise demonstrate overt affection, generally in public.
- 1890, “The Bizarre Notes and Queries in History, Folk-lore, Mathematics, Mysticism, Art, Science, Etc.”, in Journal of American Folk-Lore, volumes 7–8:
  Lallygag.—To "spoon,"' make love.—Maine.
- 1894, Frederick Thickstun Clark, On Cloud Mountain: A Novel, New York, N.Y.: Harper and Brothers, page 115:
  "She's goin' to wait fer us down to Rothschild's bridge. 'N' her 'n' me 's goin' to set on the back seat together—" / "'N' lallygag," interrupted his mother. […] / "Oh, we allus lallygag when we git together, me 'n' Cynthy does." […]
- 1898, William Cowper Brann, The Complete Works of Brann, the Iconoclast, page 257:
  Kissing is a game that should always be played in private. Those who must lallygag or perish should pull down the blinds.
- 1953, John Phillips, The Second Happiest Day, page 40:
  "I think you'd better dance," the Admiral said. "Dance around and lallygag and slop up some cocktails. Whatever you do, enjoy yourself. […]["]