GWD: Dillydally

Another gnomish nonsense compound that I had overlooked, likely because I was dillydallying. They can strip out the hyphen, but the gnomish aesthetic remains intact...

dil·ly·dal·ly

Pronunciation: \ˈdi-lē-ˌda-lē\

Function: intransitive verb

Etymology: reduplication of dally

Date: 1741

: to waste time by loitering or delaying : dawdle

GWD: Hoity-Toity

And you thought I'd been kidnapped by gnomes, right? It's interesting that the second definition of hoity-toity has come to largely dominated the popular understanding, overlooking the original, decidedly gnomish nature of the word.

¹hoi·ty–toi·ty

Pronunciation: \ˌhȯi-tē-ˈtȯi-tē, ˌhī-tē-ˈtī-tē\

Function: noun

Etymology: rhyming compound from English dial. hoit to play the fool

Date: 1668

: thoughtless giddy behavior


²hoi·ty–toi·ty

Pronunciation: \ˌhȯi-tē-ˈtȯi-tē, ˌhī-tē-ˈtī-tē\

Function: noun

Etymology: rhyming compound from English dial. hoit to play the fool

Date: 1668

:1 thoughtlessly silly or frivolous: FLIGHTY 2 marked by an air of assumed importance: HIGHFALUTIN