▪ I. jolly, a. and adv.
(ˈdʒɒlɪ)
Forms: α. 4 iolife, -iffe, -yfe, -ef, 4–5 iolyf, 4–6 iolif. β. 4–6 iolye, 4–7 ioly, (5 iuly, yoly), 5–6 ioyly, 5–7 iolie, 6 iollie, iolly, ioylye, 7 jollie, 7– jolly.
[ME. jolif, jolyf, joly, a. OF. jolif, joli, gay, festive, lively, merry, amorous, gallant, brave, finely dressed, handsome, fair, pretty, = It. giulivo merry, pleasant, cheerful, glad, gay (in Florio giolivo ‘iollie, pleasant, ioyous, blithe, bonnie, buckesome’), OCat. joliu (Littré). For the loss of the final f in F. and Eng. cf. hasty, tardy. In 15–16th c. app. associated with joy, whence the spelling joyly.
The origin of OF. jolif is uncertain. French etymologists have generally followed Diez in referring it to ON. jól (= OE. ᵹeól) yule, or to a cognate German name (indicated by Gothic Juleis November) for the midwinter feast of the northern nations, whence (in ON.) for ‘a feast’ generally; thus *jōl-īvus, jôl-if would be = festive. But the historical and phonetic difficulties involved, whether the word is supposed to have been taken into F. from Norse after 900, or to have been Common Romanic, are such as to render this conjecture extremely doubtful. M. Paul Meyer suggests that OF. jolif might be after all:—L. *gaudīvus, f. gaudēre to rejoice, gaudium joy, with change of d to l, as in cigāda, Pr. cigala, F. cigale, Vadensis, F. Valois, and some other words.]
A. adj. I. 1. Of gay and cheerful disposition or character; bright, lively; joyous, gladsome; mirthful. Now arch. and chiefly of time.
| α a 1310 in Wright Lyric P. xvi. 52 Heo is dereworthe in day, Graciouse, stout, ant gay, Gentil, jolyf so the jay. ? a 1366 Chaucer Rom. Rose 435 Ne she was gay fresh ne Iolyf But semed be ful ententyf To gode werkes. |
| β c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 169 Preiere is betre herd of god bi..stille devocion..þan bi..ioly chauntynge þat stireþ men & wommen to daunsynge. 1582 Stanyhurst æneis iii. (Arb.) 73 Wee..with iollye tumult, where should that cittye be setled Streight ways demaunded. c 1636 Milton Sonn. Nightingale, While the jolly Hours lead on propitious May. 1647 May Hist. Parl. i. ii. 18 Though the times were jolly for the present..they could not chuse but feare the sequell. 1750 Dodd Poems (1767) 28 The jolly choir of maidens trim, Daughters of pleasance. 1871 R. Ellis Catullus lxi. 11 Come, for jolly the time, awake. |
† 2. In more physical sense: Having the freshness and lively spirits of youth or good health; fresh, lively, sprightly, spirited. Obs.
| α 13.. Seuyn Sag. 2565 Hit was a knight..And [had a] yong jolif wif. c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 1582 A doȝty iolyf bacheler a ȝong man & a wiȝt Þat is of body fresch & fier. c 1450 Bk. Hawking in Rel. Ant. I. 300 That hawke was never so jolyfe and so luste afore. |
| β c 1325 Song of Yesterday 75 in E.E.P. (1862) 165 An hounde Þat is likyng, and Ioly And of sekenesse hol and sounde. c 1386 Chaucer Miller's T. 77 Wynsynge she was as is a ioly colt. c 1450 Merlin 47 Thei be yonge men and Iolye, and have grete nede of counseile. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. ccxxix. 308 Therle of Marche was as then a ioly yong herty knight. 1586 Bright Melanch. xxviii. 160 The bloude getteth a farther egernesse, and these iolie spirits be wasted. |
3. a. In high spirits; exhilarated, joyful; † glad of or pleased at something. Chiefly pred.
| c 1305 St. Swithin 117 in E.E.P. (1862) 46 Þis gode man of þis tokning: iolyf was ynouȝ. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xiv. 20 Iob by-cam a iolif man and al hus ioye newe. c 1400 Destr. Troy 249 Iason was Ioly of his Iuste wordes. 1600 Holland Livy x. 358 The Tuscans..got hart and were very iolie, saying that the Gods were in favour of them. 1656 Nicholas Papers (Camden) III. 266 Though some are soe jollie at the French entertaynement. 1780 Johnson Lett. to Mrs. Thrale 30 May, Taylor, who is gone away brisk and jolly, asked me when I would come to him. 1863 Kingsley Water-Bab. i, And then shook his ears, and was as jolly as ever. |
b. euphem. Exhilarated with drink, slightly intoxicated.
| 1652 C. B. Stapylton Herodian 56 In his Tipsy Cups when he was Jolly. 1741 H. Walpole Lett. H. Mann (1834) I. 36 Young Churchill and a dozen more grew jolly, stayed till seven in the morning and drank thirty two bottles. 1884 Pae Eustace 33 I'm never more than jolly, and can take care of myself precious well. |
4. Indulging in, or fond of, conviviality and social merriment; festive; jovial. the jolly god, Bacchus. jolly fellow, jolly dog, a person of convivial tastes and habits: cf. fellow n. 3 a.
| 1375 Barbour Bruce i. 332 The quhethir he glaid was and Ioly, And till swylk thowlesnes he ȝeid As the cours askis off ȝowtheid. 1483 Caxton G. de la Tour C iij, Them..that so moche waste their good to be iolif and repayre their carayn. 1550 Crowley Epigr. 35 b, To lyue lyke a Lorde, and make iolye chere. a 1661 Fuller Worthies (1840) II. 532 He was a jolly gentleman, both for camp and court, a great reveller. 1697 Dryden Alexander's Feast 49 The jolly god in triumph comes. 1750 The Student, There is another set..who assume to themselves the name of jolly fellows and ridicule every body who has the folly to be sober. 1799 Ld. Melbourne in M. Papers (1889) 5 Miller himself is a little jolly dog. 1813 Sporting Mag. XLI. 88 A decent-looking man..who had sacrificed too freely to the jolly God. 1843 Thackeray Crit. Rev. Wks. 1886 XXIII. 87 He became a viveur and jolly dog about town. 1871 R. Ellis Catullus xlvii. 6 They, my jolly comrades Search the streets. |
II. † 5. a. Of cheerful courage; high-hearted, gallant; brave. Obs.
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 333 With jolif men of gest toward þe North he schoke, To chace Kyng Robyn. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 300 The Iolef Iapheth watz gendered þe þryd. 1375 Barbour Bruce xi. 524 Thai war all ȝong men and Ioly, And ȝarnand till do cheuelry. c 1400 Beryn 2440 A trewe visage He had, & a manly, And Iuly was he. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. ccccxlii. 779 The same season there dyed..the gentyll and ioly duke Vincelyns. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. i. 1 Full jolly knight he seemd, and faire did sitt, As one for knightly giusts and fierce encounters fitt. 1642 Rogers Naaman 29 The only season of working a jolly and stout heart to crouch and creepe. |
b. jolly roger: see Roger2 4.
† 6. Overweeningly self-confident; flushed with success or prosperity; full of presumptuous pride; defiantly bold, arrogant, overbearing. Obs.
| a 1340 Hampole Psalter cxlvi. 12 Proude men & iolif [v.r. ioly], nouþere dredis him na has hope in him. 1474 Caxton Chesse i. i, Evilmerodach, a Iolye man without Iustyse and cruel. 1566 Stapleton Ret. Untr. Jewel iv. 111 Thinke you to outface us with ioyly bragges? 1573 G. Harvey Letter-bk. (Camden) 45 M. Brown..amongst other of his iolly vaunts..made this bost. 1648 Sanderson Serm. II. 232 It concerneth every one of us..not to be too high-minded or jolly for any thing that is past. 1666 Sancroft Lex. Ignea 40 Our Mountain which we said in our jolly pride should never be removed. |
III. † 7. a. Amorous; amatory; wanton, lustful.
| 1382 Wyclif Amos vi. 4 Ȝe sleepen in beddis of yuer, and wexen wijld [gloss or iolyf] in ȝour beddis. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 1192 Dido, So prikyth hire thes newe iolye wo. 1390 Gower Conf. III. 36 Thou in al thi lust jolif The bodily delices soghtest. c 1425 Seven Sag. (P.) 235 The emperour was jolyf of blode, And hare councel undirstood. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. (1495) 256 He sholde send to her all the yonge men that were Ioly for to enforce and to make her do theyr wyll. 1645 Milton Tetrach. Wks. (1847) 181/2 (Gen. ii. 18) In the Song of Songs, which is generally believed, even in the jolliest expressions, to figure the spousals of the church with Christ. |
b. Of animals: In heat. Obs. exc. dial.
| 1500–20 Dunbar Poems lxxxiv. 8 Quhone the biche is jolie and on rage. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. 1947 Quhen ane[s] iolie persauit wes ane beist..Scho suld be keipit closlie vndir cuir. 1884 Chesh. Gloss., Jolly, maris appetens. |
IV. † 8. a. Bright or gay in appearance; brilliant, showy, splendid. Obs.
| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. A. 841 Thys Iherusalem lombe hade neuer pechche, Of oþer huee bot quyt [= white] Iolyf. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 520 Jolye and gaye sadeles. a 1440 Sir Eglam. 1200 Mony knyghtys herde of bone That yoly colourys bare. 1535 Coverdale Job xl. 10 Vp, decke the in thy ioly araye. 1688 South Serm., Prov. xii. 22 An apple of Sodom..with a florid jolly white and red. |
† b. Of immaterial things: Fine; fair; specious.
| a 1500 Bernardus de cura rei fam. (E.E.T.S.) 198 Trast hym nocht, suppose he were þi brudyr, Bot gef a ioly worde ay for ane vdyr. 1557 Tottel's Misc. (Arb.) 202 Then finenesse thought by trainyng talke to win that beauty lost. And whet her tonges with ioly wordes. 1562 Jewel Apol. Ch. Eng. iv. (1600) 146 Thus with a gay, and iollie shewe, deceiue they the simple. 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. 245 Those, which by outward gesture and habite of the body, make a jollie shew. |
† 9. Finely or ‘bravely’ dressed; = Sc. ‘braw’.
| c 1386 Chaucer Frankl. T. 199 A squier..That fressher was and Iolyer of array As to my doom than is the Monthe of May. 1483 Caxton G. de la Tour C iij b, [I] spared myn araye on holy dayes for to shewe me fresshe and ioly tofore men of astate. 1508 Dunbar Tua mariit wemen 67 With silkis arrayit, Gymp, iolie and gent. 1593 R. Harvey Philad. 5 His multitude of rude Scythians and shepheardes could do more Actes than all the fine gay troopes and rankes of Baiazete,..vnlesse it be an infallible Item that the iolliest men are euer greatest actors by sea and land. |
10. Good-looking; handsome; fair, pretty. Now only dial.
| ? a 1366 Chaucer Rom. Rose 829 So noble he was of his stature, So fair, so Ioly, and so fetys. c 1475 Partenay 343 Then spak the moste gentillest of thaim thre, The most good⁓lokest And iolyest to se. 1565 Golding Ovid's Met. xiii. (1567) A a ij b, I know my selfe too bee A iollye fellow. For euen now I did behold and see Myne image in the water sheere. 1648 Beaumont Psyche iv. iv, When all the glorious Realm of pure Delight, Illustrious Paradise waited on the feet Of jolly Eve. 1650 J. Reynolds Flower Fidel. 20 This jolly Nymph..very joyfully conducted them through the Woods. |
11. Healthy and well developed; of large make and fine appearance; well-conditioned; plump. Rarely of a plant. dial. and colloq.
| a 1661 Fuller Worthies (1840) III. 363 A dainty dame in her youth, and a jolly woman in her age. 1683 Lond. Gaz. No. 1848/8 A brisk jolly Man, brown hair'd. 1707 Curiosities in Husb. & Gard. 205 One of these Branches..was grown to be a very Jolly Plant. 1712 Steele Spect. No. 485 ¶3 He is that Sort of person which the Mob call a handsome jolly Man. 1749 Phil. Trans. XLVI. 234 The Lady was brought to bed of a fine jolly Boy. 1825 Brockett, Jolly, stout, large in person. ‘A jolly landlady’. 1887 Kent Gloss., Jolly, fat; plump; sleek, in good condition. |
V. 12. a. Used as a general expression of admiration: Splendid, fine, excellent.
| 1548 Udall, etc. Erasm. Par. Mark viii. 31 To haue hym greatly estemed, and taken for a ioly felowe of euery body. 1576 Fleming tr. Caius' Eng. Dogs in Arb. Garner III. 239 This dog..taketh the prey with a jolly quickness. c 1620 C. More Life Sir T. More (1828) 316 This said jolly invention of Sir Thomas More's. 1697 Dryden Virg. Past. iii. 146 Graze not too near the Banks, my jolly Sheep. 1805 Wordsw. Waggoner i. 118 My jolly team, he finds that ye Will work for nobody but me! 1859 Farrar J. Home 264 (Hoppe) They all drank his health with the usual honours:..For he's a jolly good fe-el-low, Which nobody can deny. |
b. ironically. (Cf. ‘pretty’, ‘fine’, Sc. ‘bonny’.)
The term jolly fellow was often thus used in the sixteenth cent., sometimes with allusion to sense 6, and is still applied in the same way dialectally.
| 1534 More Treat. on Passion Wks. 1303/2 Here shall you see Iudas play the ioylye marchaunt I trowe. 1546 Gardiner Declar. Art. Joye 42 b, Is not he a ioylye worke⁓man that wolde deuise to haue god done, otherwyse then he hath? 1586 J. Ferne Blaz. Gentrie 71 Mary, a iolly peece of worke it were, to see plow-men gentlemen. c 1620 Z. Boyd Zion's Flowers (1855) 82 They're joly praters, but are Jades to doe. 1645 Milton Colast. Wks. (1851) 343 It was my hap at length..to finde not seeking..a jolly slander, call'd Divorce at pleasure. 1881 Leicester Gloss. s.v., ‘A jolly fellow’ = ‘a fine fellow’, in the sense of one who prides himself on something he has no occasion to be proud of. |
13. a. Exceedingly pleasant, agreeable, or ‘nice’; delightful. Now colloq.
| 1549 Latimer 5th Serm. bef. Edw. VI (Arb.) 142 A ioly praye for oure holye father. 1579–80 North Plutarch, Sertorius (1676) 493 The heat of Summer is nourished and inforced by the melting of the ice and snow, and so bloweth a joly coole winde. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. ii. vii. 183 This Life is most iolly. 1610 Fletcher Faithf. Sheph. i. i, Sports, delights and jolly games That Shepherds hold full dear. c 1704 Prior Henry & Emma 122 A Shepherd now along the Plain He roves; And with his jolly Pipe, delights the Groves. 1865 Kingsley Herew. xv, How jolly it will be to see them. 1888 Poor Nellie 57 By Jove! but it is awfully jolly out here! 1890 ‘L. Falconer’ Mlle. Ixe iii. (1891) 86 Good-bye, Mrs. Merrington; so jolly of you to give a dance. 1891 E. Peacock N. Brendon I. 138 What was, by universal consent, the jolliest room in the house. |
b. Also ironically.
| 1916 Galsworthy Sheaf i. 13 ‘Jolly for my new coat!’ I said. |
14. Used as an admiring intensive, deriving its meaning from the context: Admirably great, large, big, etc.; ironically ‘fine’, ‘nice’. Now colloq.
| 1559 Mirr. Mag., Salisbury xxiv, With erles, lordes and captaynes ioly store. 1579 Spenser Sheph. Cal. Sept. 165 Indeede, thy Ball is a bold bigge curre, And could make a jolly hole in theyr furre. a 1661 Fuller Worthies (1840) III. 514 This king had four-and-twenty daughters, a jolly number. 1855 Darwin in Life & Lett. (1887) I. 405 Are not these a jolly lot of assumptions? 18.. F. W. Robinson Wrayford's Ward, etc., Tito's Troubles, The fate that loomed before Tito..was..set down as a ‘jolly shame’. 1880 Mrs. J. H. Riddell Myst. Palace Gard. xxx. (1881) 293 The jolly row there was between him and the mater. Mod. slang, ‘I should call you a jolly fool, if you did.’ |
B. adv.
1. In a jolly manner; merrily, pleasantly.
| 1615 Wither Sheph. Hunt. in Juvenilia (1633) 385 Willy, thou now full jolly tun'st thy Reeds. 1856 Emerson Eng. Traits, Race Wks. (Bohn) II. 31 They eat and drink, and live jolly in the open air. |
2. a. Qualifying an adj. or adv.; orig. appreciatively, then ironically, with intensive force: Extremely, very. Now colloq.
| 1549 Coverdale, etc. Erasm. Par. Phil. iii. 5, I thought my selfe a iolye fortunate man [pulchre mihi videbar felix], aswell for the nobylitie of my kyndred..as also for my strayte obseruyng of y⊇ law. c 1555 Harpsfield Divorce Hen. VIII (Camden) 171 The..25 chapter..maketh a jolly impertinent process. 1596 Shakes. Tam. Shr. iii. ii. 215 'Tis like you'll proue a iolly surly groome. c 1645 Howell Lett. vi. 43 Prince Rupert having got a jolly considerable Army in Holland. 1647 Trapp Comm. Matt. iv. 1 All was jolly quiet at Ephesus before St. Paul came hither. 1838 Dickens O. Twist ix, ‘He is so jolly green’, said Charley. 1898 R. Kipling in Morn. Post 8 Nov. 5/1 My friend, you made a mistake, and you jolly well know it. |
b. Formerly also jolly and ―; cf. Sc. braw and ―, gay and ―; in braw and able, braw and soon, it is gay and late.
| 1565 T. Stapleton Fortr. Faith 37 Is not your doctrine a ioyly and holesom doctrine? Ibid. 40* Is not this religion of protestants like to be a ioyly and sounde religion? 1575 Laneham Lett. 58, I am of woont iolly & dry a mornings. |
C. Comb., as jolly-cheeked, jolly-faced, jolly-timbered, jollylike adjs.; jolly-boys, ‘a group of small drinking vessels connected by a tube, or by openings one from another’ (Farmer Slang 1896); jolly-tail Austral., a small fresh-water fish of the genus Galaxias, esp. G. attenuatus.
| 1587 M. Grove Pelops & Hipp. (1878) 48 As if Alexandrus were With all his iolilyke royaltie, in place among them there. 1594 Lodge Wounds Civ. War iii. i. in Hazl. Dodsley VII. 145 Aristion is a jolly-timber'd man. 1819 W. Tennant Papistry Storm'd (1827) 118 The jollie-cheekit moon. 1892 P. L. Simmonds Commercial Dict. Trade Products (rev. ed.) Suppl. 463/2 Jolly-tail, a small fresh-water fish of Australia..highly esteemed as a delicacy for the table. There are several species. 1898 F. C. Gould in Westm. Gaz. 8 Dec. 2/1 Jolly-faced farmers. 1898 E. E. Morris Austral Eng. 224/1 Jolly-tail, n. a Tasmanian name for the larger variety of the fish Galaxias attenuatus, Jenyns, and other species of Galaxias. 1951 T. C. Roughley Fish Austral. (rev. ed.) 156 It [sc. whitebait] is composed mainly of the young fry of small fish called minnows or jollytails (Galaxias attenuatus). 1965 Austral. Encycl. V. 141/2 Jollytails, small freshwater fishes (Galaxias) rarely attaining a length of 8 inches. |
▪ II. jolly, n.1 slang.
(ˈdʒɒlɪ)
[jolly a. used as n.]
1. A royal marine. tame jolly, a militiaman.
| 1829 Marryat F. Mildmay xi, The jollies fired tolerably well. 1841 ― Poacher xxvi, ‘Jollies! what are they?’ ‘Why, marines, to be sure’. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. s.v., Tame jolly, a militiaman: royal jolly, a marine. 1896 R. Kipling Seven Seas 176 I'm a Jolly—'Er Majesty's Jolly—Soldier and Sailor too. |
2. A cheer.
| 1871 Daily Tel. 7 Mar. (Farmer), On a suggestion to give him a jolly, which appears to be the local phrase, they cheered the hero loud and long. 1894 Daily News 27 July 8/1 The Chairman..called upon those who benefited by it to give those gentlemen a ‘jolly’, a request which was carried out with amazing vigour. |
3. A word of praise or favourable notice, esp. one uttered for some ulterior purpose, as to further the sale of goods; also, A sham purchaser (see quot. 1867).
| 1856 H. Mayhew Gt. World London 46 (Farmer) The dependents of cheats; as jollies and ‘magsmen’, or the confederates of other cheats. 1867 Morning Star 25 Dec., The man Kelly was what is termed a ‘jolly’, that was, a person paid to bid so as to induce strangers to believe that he was a bonâ fide purchaser. 1873 Slang Dict. 205 ‘Chuck Harry a jolly, Bill’, i.e. go and praise up his goods, or buy of him, and speak well of the article. |
▪ III. jolly, n.2
(ˈdʒɒlɪ)
[Short for jolly-boat.]
= jolly-boat.
| 1829 Marryat F. Mildmay xxii, There is the jolly for you: send the boat off as soon as you have landed. 1887 W. Rye Norfolk Broads 74 We took the jolly across the broad. 1889 Blackw. Mag. CXLVI. 172 The jolly was half full of water. |
▪ IV. jolly, n.4 colloq.
Short for jollification; so, a thrill of enjoyment or excitement, as in phr. to get one's jollies. Also jollyo, jolly-up. Cf. jollo.
| 1905 in Dialect Notes (1908) III. 325 Justice Brewer's jolly. 1907 F. H. Burnett Shuttle xxiii. 237 If you can give 'em a jolly and make 'em laugh, they'll listen. 1920 Spectator 4 Dec. 740/1 Every age must be allowed an occasional ‘jolly’. 1921 Galsworthy To Let ii. iv. 154 Come and have a ‘jolly’ with us. 1924 M. Newman Consummation iv. xv. 197 Troops fed to the teeth with..relentless routine, broken only by the occasional horror of a ‘show’ (what Bossy called a ‘jolly’). 1927 Amer. Speech II. 277/1 Jolly-up, informal dance. 1932 E. Waugh Black Mischief iv. 140 Why can't the silly mutt go off home and leave us to have a jolly up. 1957 M. Shulman Rally round the Flag, Boys! (1958) ix. 100 If she wasn't so goddam busy..then he wouldn't be thinking about getting his jollies elsewhere! 1962 in Wentworth & Flexner Dict. Amer. Slang Suppl. (1967) 686/1 The owner of this place gets his jollies by walking around most of the day in a Sioux war bonnet. 1963 Daily Tel. 3 Oct. 20/2 Many parents rejoice inwardly at..their sons being immured under a régime of spartan rigour, but if the compensating jolly-up in the holidays is carried beyond a certain point the whole exercise becomes..unrealistic. 1966 D. Francis Flying Finish v. 64 You couldn't just go up alone for an afternoon's jolly in an airliner. 1968 Surfer Mag. Jan. 18/2 The announcer acted like this is where all of the surfers go after dark to get their jollies. 1970 V. C. Clinton-Baddeley No Case for Police iv. 78, I had gone for a jollyo to one of the rather swell hotels. 1971 ‘W. Haggard’ Bitter Harvest xiv. 145 It would be a splendid wedding, the sort of big jolly Charles Russell enjoyed. |
▪ V. jolly, v.
(ˈdʒɒlɪ)
[f. jolly a. and n.1; cf. OF. jolyer.]
1. intr. To make merry, enjoy oneself. rare.
| 1610 G. Fletcher Christs Tri. i. xxxv, They jolly at his grief, and make their game. 1839 Thackeray Fatal Boots xii, Home at half-past three to dinner—when I jollied, as I call it, for the rest of the day. |
2. slang. a. trans. To treat with rough merriment, ridicule, or horseplay; to chaff; to abuse.
| 1873 Slang Dict., Jolly, to abuse or vituperate. 1879 N. & Q. 5th Ser. XI. 406 Jolleying is a common term among workmen in London, and is used to express nearly every description of verbal ridicule and abuse. 1885 J. Runciman Skippers & Sh. 146 The way they hustled us and jollied us was cruel. 1924 H. de Selincourt Cricket Match vii. 219 Their main effort seems not to be..jollied out for a depressing total. |
b. To cheer.
| 1891 Licensed Victuallers' Gaz. 9 Feb. (Farmer), The ring of spectators..cheered and jollied both lads vociferously. |
c. To treat (a person) in a pleasant, agreeable manner, with the object of keeping him in good humour or of obtaining a favour from him. Const. up, along, etc. Also with impers. obj. orig. U.S.
| 1890 H. Palmer Stories of Base Ball Field 81, I jollied him along as strong as I could. 1893 Gunter Miss Dividends 232 You've left her alone all to-day—you ain't been near to jolly her up. 1894 Outing (U.S.) XXIV. 60/1 It was very difficult to beg off. I jollied the trio as best I could. 1895 Nebraska State Jrnl. 23 June 3/1 They jollied Hiram Ebright and touched up the players. 1899 Harper's Mag. XXVIII. 529/2 We want you to jolly them up a bit. 1901 Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 19 Oct. 2/5 It is now asserted that the message was an artful device of the astute Mr. Bratnober, who wanted to keep Mr. Macdonald ‘jollied up’ until the time should come to dispense with his services. 1908 G. H. Lorimer Jack Spurlock v. 91 Our customers expect the boys to have a little snap and jolly their grub along. 1929 E. Wilson I thought of Daisy iv. 253, I thought that I'd jolly him along a little. 1938 E. Waugh Scoop ii. i. 124 We've got to..make contacts, dig up some news sources, jolly up the locals a bit. 1943 J. B. Priestley Daylight on Saturday xi. 68 He had seen himself arranging sports and entertainments..and generally jollying everybody along. 1958 ‘A. Gilbert’ Death against Clock 10 Her clothes were varying shades of brown, jollied up with a purple scarf. 1959 Times 28 July 11/2 Mr. Maurice Browning..jollies things along briskly enough, with enthusiastic aid from the audience. 1973 H. McCloy Change of Heart iv. 40 He protested, he argued, he even tried to jolly them along. They only became bolder. |
d. intr. To make a sham bid at an auction; see jolly n.1 3.
| 1869 Echo 11 Oct., Dealers who if they chance to see a likely purchaser in the crowd will forthwith commence to make false offers—termed ‘jollying’—for their own horses when brought up for auction. |