A dilly is a coach or carriage, but it's not related to the
phrase "dilly dilly." A "dilly dilly" is more like a cheer
or a command, and it gained popularity when it was used in a 2017 beer
commercial.
You may have heard this on TV, in an app, or spoken by your friends. If so,
you may have wondered (just like me) whether “dilly” is a real word.
The answer is
yes—and no.
Dilly
“Dilly” is an
obsolete term for a horse-drawn carriage—one that was available for hire.
Imagine “Pride-and-Prejudice”-era debutantes stepping out of a carriage on
their way to a ball. They might have been riding in a dilly. Or picture a
stagecoach flying across the Wild West, paying passengers on board, and a
coachman astride the cab. They too were riding on a dilly.
This word came
into use in the 1700s. Its meaning was extended over time to include carts,
trucks, and, even railway engines. But as the use of horses-drawn carriages
died away, so did this word.
Fast-forward to
2017.
Dilly Dilly
Wieden+Kennedy,
the ad agency for Anheuser-Busch, was working on a campaign for the 2017 NFL
season. They came up with the idea of a “Game of Thrones”–like world in which a
laconic king cries out “dilly dilly” when his subjects bring him beer.
The ad debuted
in August 2017, and the phrase spread like wildfire across pop culture. Soon,
there were “dilly dilly” T-shirts, hats, mugs … you name it. The phrase was
even used by Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in a game against the
Tennessee Titans. He called an audible at the
line of scrimmage—that means he told his teammates at the last second
he was changing the play. The name of the surprise play? Dilly dilly.
The executives
who created this campaign admit that
the phrase doesn’t mean much, other than conveying a rough
sense of “cheers,” or “hear hear.” They chose it simply because it made them
laugh.
And when they
chose it, they probably didn’t realize it was an epizeuxis.
Epizeuxis
No—I didn’t just
sneeze—I said “epizeuxis.” That’s a literary device in which a word or phrase
is repeated in quick succession. It can be used for emphasis, to generate
emotion, or to create a certain cadence.
A literary
example of epizeuxis is from Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness,” when the
antagonist Kurtz cries out “the horror, the horror.”
A musical
example is Maroon 5’s song “I Don’t Want to Know”:
I don’t want to know, know,
know, know
Who’s taking you home, home, home, home
And loving you so, so, so, so
The way I used to love you.
Who’s taking you home, home, home, home
And loving you so, so, so, so
The way I used to love you.
And a strangely
familiar example can be found in an 1881 book of
nursery rhymes:
Lavender’s blue, dilly dilly,
lavender’s green,
When I am king, dilly dilly, you shall be queen:
Who told you so, dilly dilly, who told you so?
‘Twas mine own heart, dilly dilly, that told me so.
When I am king, dilly dilly, you shall be queen:
Who told you so, dilly dilly, who told you so?
‘Twas mine own heart, dilly dilly, that told me so.
In sum, “dilly”
was a real word, but the phrase “dilly dilly” has no relation to it. If you
want, use it for fun, use it to laugh, and don’t think much more about it.