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Usenet Posted 22 years ago
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Willie-nilly

"Willie-nilly I will go decreasing ..." Please tell me what willie-nilly means. Should it be written otherwise? Is it a much used expression? Please elaborate. Thanks.
M.R.
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Top answer

" Please tell me what willie-nilly means. Should it be written otherwise? Is it a much used expression?

  • " Please tell me what willie-nilly means.
  • Should it be written otherwise?
  • Is it a much used expression?
  • Please elaborate.
  • [/nq] *****-nilly, adverb or adjective alteration of will I nill I or will ye nill ye or will he nill he It means 'without choice'.
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7 Answers
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[nq:1]"Willie-nilly I will go decreasing ..." Please tell me what willie-nilly means. Should it be written otherwise? Is it a much used expression? Please elaborate. Thanks.[/nq]
*****-nilly, adverb or adjective
alteration of will I nill I or will ye nill ye or will he nill he
It means 'without choice'.
"*****-nilly young man, you're going to school this morning!"
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Thanks a million John. This is what someone could call professional and speedy service.
M.R.
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"John Ings" (Email Removed) a écrit dans le message de
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*****-nilly (usual spelling) also (and in my experience more commonly) means chaotically, without any order, as in "I hurriedly threw my clothes *****-nilly into my suitcase". However, in the example you give, I'm not sure what the sense is.
It's not a commonly used expression, and is informal.
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[nq:1]*****-nilly (usual spelling) also (and in my experience more commonly) means chaotically, without any order, as in "I hurriedly threw my clothes *****-nilly into my suitcase".[/nq]
Are you sure you're not thinking of helter-skelter?
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[nq:2]*****-nilly (usual spelling) also (and in my experience more commonly) ... in "I hurriedly threw my clothes *****-nilly into my suitcase".[/nq]
[nq:1]Are you sure you're not thinking of helter-skelter?[/nq]
One meaning for *****-nilly is randomly, without order. Helter-skelter has kinda been on the outs since Charles Manson went nuts.
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[nq:2]Are you sure you're not thinking of helter-skelter?[/nq]
[nq:1]One meaning for *****-nilly is randomly, without order. Helter-skelter has kinda been on the outs since Charles Manson went nuts.[/nq]
Then there's higgledy-piggledy
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[nq:1]Are you sure you're not thinking of helter-skelter?[/nq]
Nope. The Cambridge Advanced Learners Dictionary gives *****-nilly as:
"without any order"
and gives as an example
"She threw her clothes *****-nilly into a drawer."

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