Today , we begin with a story about two good friends : Caleb and Corrine . They have a lot in common . They like the same books , enjoy the same movies and play the same sports . But , the friends are also quite different in the way they live their lives . Corrine is a planner . She always has a schedule . She is always on time and knows exactly where she is going . Caleb is a free spirit . He likes things unplanned and likes to see where the road takes him . In fact , sometimes he does not know exactly where he is going . One day , these two friends decided to go shopping together . You might find it surprising that something like shopping would test their friendship . But it did . To Corrine shopping is an unpleasant task . So , she does it as quickly as possible . She goes to stores as soon as they open . And she buys only what she needs . To Caleb shopping is an adventure ! He likes to linger in front of store windows . He looks at the objects for sale for a long time without even stepping inside the store . This activity , that is popular with some , is called window shopping . Caleb does not pay much attention to his shopping list . In fact , he usually doesn't have one . He likes to browse . And he says that browsing has resulted in some of his best purchases . Well , he calls it browsing . Corrine calls it dawdling , or wasting time . And that is where their problems started . The two had decided they would have a party . They had to shop to buy party equipment , like pretty dishes and tablecloths . They also needed to buy flowers , balloons and other decorations . This meant going to several different stores . Caleb wanted to browse to help him get ideas for the party . Corrine just wanted to buy what they needed and leave . It was not going well . Finally , when Caleb lingered too long again at a window display , Corrine said , “Can you please stop dillydallying . You've been lollygagging this whole time and I just want to go home !” Caleb turned to her and said , “I am not dillydallying . Nor am I lollygagging . This is how I shop . If you feel like this is wasting time , then you can go home .” Corrine thought about it and said , "That is the best idea I have heard all day !" While Caleb shopped , Corrine could start making food for the party . It was a good idea to separate and do different tasks . The party was a success , and their friendship survived . Now , back to our words : Lollygag and dillydally . They are funny sounding words . People who fool around during tasks can be said to “lollygag .” People who “dillydally ” move or act slowly . And as we said earlier , these words also mean “dawdle .” Lollygaggers , dillydalliers , and dawdlers all waste time . We usually use these words to describe people who move or act slowly to avoid doing something unpleasant . Here's another example . A parent might accuse their child of lollygagging on their way to school . Or a teacher might accuse a student of dillydallying before starting a test or homework . Sometimes we just say dally . So , a parent could warn a child , “Don't dally at the playground after school . Come straight home !” Although , that usage is a little less common . And please note when you say someone is dillydallying or lollygagging , as Corrine did with Caleb , they might take offense .