do something willy-nilly
willy-nilly
1. Without thought, order, or reason; haphazardly. You can't just choose a college willy-nilly—you have to do some research. It appears he listed the items willy-nilly, with no regard to how they were loaded.
2. Regardless of whether or not it is desired. I'm afraid you're going to be assigned to a classroom willy-nilly.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
do something ˌwilly-ˈnilly
(informal)1 do something whether you want to or not: She was forced willy-nilly to accept the company’s proposals.
2 do something in a careless way without planning: Don’t just use your credit card willy-nilly.
This expression is a shortened form of ‘willing or not willing’.
See also: something
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
- nilly
- all over the lot
- choose
- choose from
- choose from (people or things)
- all over the shop
- be all over the shop