Pronunciations (2)
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/duːˈlæli/
Pronunciation notes
- Received-Pronunciation
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/duˈlæli/
Pronunciation notes
- General-American
Adjective
Eccentric; insane, mad.
Usage- Ireland
- UK usage
- Slang
- Examples
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More examples (1)
"Will you write me an Essay on Corsets?" / "On what?" I asked incredulously—knowing that he had been a distinguished soldier, and suspecting that he had suddenly developed what the soldiers describe as "a touch of the doolally."
"When you've got any God's amount of brains," said Frobisher, "you can pretend to be doolally;[…]"
Doolally tap. It's the strain see – and it gets the doolally lads first.
More examples (6)
They were all doolally of course, except Philomela.
[H]e took three sleeping-pills in the night, so he says, and he's all doped and doolally now. I need your help to move him.
"Now you're being silly. Promise you'll put me in a home when I get really doolally." / "If you're really doolally you won't know if I have or not." / "So promise."
The cat scrap at the bridal bash only made him more doolally.
But then, doolally as this enterprise clearly is, I've had the most pleasant day I can remember having in a long time.
Likewise, the menopause market is obsessed with muscle wastage, and the possibility that if women don't eat enough protein after the age of 40 their minds will go doolally and their bones will turn to dust.
Carried away by enjoyment, excitement, etc.
Usage- Ireland
- UK usage
- broadly
- Slang
- Examples
-
More examples (3)
You are there to entertain. Education is something we like doing. That's not actually the biggest thing on the night, when people are queuing to get in and paying their money. They want to go doolally to their favourite records.
'I've never had a pet before,' Darkus gazed happily at Baxter [a beetle]. 'Thank you.' / 'That's all right, lad.' Uncle Max threw his hands up in defeat. 'I can hardly say no, when I know Barty would say yes.' / Darkus looked up, surprised. 'He would?' / 'Of course! A handsome hexapod like this? He'd be doolally about it!'
Australia went doolally for the visit: the Queen [Elizabeth II] waved away flies in 57 towns over 58 days; inspected an endless row of sheeps' arses in Wagga; ate Australia-shaped sandwiches with Vegemite borders at a reception in Rockhampton; and said hello to a bedridden woman in Hobart who was trundled four miles for the meeting.