Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

lollygag

/ˈlɒlɪɡæɡ/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.21 in modern English

Syllables: lol-ly-gag
IPA: /ˈlɒlɪɡæɡ/

13

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

3

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To dawdle; to be lazy or idle; to avoid necessary work or effort.

American usage

verb

To fool around, especially sexually.

American usage; Dated

verb

To effusively (often excessively) display affection.

American usage; Dated

noun

Silliness, nonsense.

American usage; Uncountable

noun

A useless or worthless person or thing.

American usage; Countable; Dated

Example Sentences

"Stop lollygagging! […] He ate ALL the ship's food! 'Zat your friend? Show him outta here!"
"Now this plaintiff thinks how poor he hereafter will have to live, for the sake of old Green's having a fine fat woman to lollygag with."
"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. […]"
"At the fair the other day George and Sue were lollygagging around like two sick kittens."
"He likes to do his car up with blacked-out windows, and all that lollygag."
"The lallygag strolls down the road that leads to Failureville."

Etymology

By surface analysis, lolly (“fool, tongue”) + gag (“fool around”). Compare lollypoop. Cited in American dialects from 1871 and attested since at least 1859.

Usage

Inflected Forms

lollygags (present, singular) lollygagging (participle, present) lollygagged (participle, past) lollygagged (past) lallygag (alternative) lollygog (alternative) lalligag (alternative) lolligag (alternative) lollygags (plural)

Synonyms

dawdle shirk slack procrastinate blow off cop out dog doss duck flinch goldbrick goof off

Questions

How do you pronounce lollygag?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈlɒlɪɡæɡ/.
What does lollygag mean?: To dawdle; to be lazy or idle; to avoid necessary work or effort.
Where does lollygag come from?: By surface analysis, lolly (“fool, tongue”) + gag (“fool around”). Compare lollypoop. Cited in American dialects from 1871 and attested since at least 1859.

How to pronounce lollygag

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “lollygag”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈlɒlɪɡæɡ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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