My wife just told me to quit lollygagging. What exactly is the root of lollygagging? As I understand it, lolly is a sucker, gagging happens when you watch politicians trying to convince the public of their sincerity.
Could it be that lollygagging is compared to a child wasting time enjoying a sucker?
http://www.word-detective.com/093098.html#lollygag
Word Detective is a very good site.
Interesting. I had always thought it involved flirtation.
You’re going to be in trouble unless you quit lollygagging !!
In addition to lollygagging, my parents also used to accuse me of…
dawdling
cavorting
galavanting
sauntering
carousing
I swear, to this day, I have not seen anyone do ANYTHING that I would call “galavanting”.
Add “tarrying” to the list. This was the one I was most often advised not to do.