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

willy-nilly, to do something

Willingly or not; anyhow, any old way. This very old term was once will-he, nill-he, nill being the negative of will (i.e., will not or won’t). It was in print by the late thirteenth century and was picked up by numerous writers, including Shakespeare (in Hamlet). Today it is sometimes used in the original sense—that is, this will happen, whether or not one wants it to—and also (erroneously according to the OED but not American dictionaries), in the meaning of sloppily or in disorganized fashion.
See also: something
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • all over the lot
  • choose
  • choose from
  • choose from (people or things)
  • all over the shop
  • be all over the shop
References in periodicals archive
I found myself in a tight spot several minutes before, as his wife, Nilly, escorted me in and casually asked if I had read the whole book.
The General Who Wasn't There
A second lynx, Nilly, suffocated to death after she became twisted in a catch-pole while keepers were attempting to move her to another enclosure.
"When we left Nilly was the one animal, out of the whole of the zoo, that I wanted to take with me.
I feel I let down Nilly by leaving her at Borth Zoo; FORMER ZOO OWNER ON HER HEARTBREAK OVER DEAD LYNX... BUT SHE DOESN'T WANT IT CLOSED
She described Nilly as her "beloved pet lynx" who lived in her house for two years and was hand-reared by the family.
Her foster son, 26-year-old Marc Cook, said: "Nilly was a muchloved family pet.
Zoo's ex-owners left heartbroken by lynx deaths
There were many stars at the wedding like Nadia Al Jundi, Nabila Obeid, Mahmoud Yasin and his wife Shahira, Majida Zaki and her husband Kamal Abu Reyh, Khaled Zaki, Mirvat Amin, and Nilly.
Haifa sings for Hani Shaker's daughter
Massachusetts State President Nilly Shilo contributed to this article.
Eastern Division
We still have to work within restraints and won't be putting players' wages up willy- nilly."
FOOTBALL: STRAN-D BY YOUR TEAM
Now zoo bosses have revealed adult female Nilly died as she was being moved between enclosures.
The zoo said in a statement: "It is with deep sadness and regret we announce the demise last week of Nilly, an adult female lynx, who was unrelated to Lillith but shared an enclosure.
THIS ZOO IS 'DISASTER WAITING TO HAPPEN' Calls for closure after second lynx is killed
Nilly asphyxiated as staff tried to move her ahead of a council inspection.
Outrage over second death of lynx at zoo
The King and bank governor call upon the eccentric Doctor Proctor and his friends Nilly and Lisa to help return the gold to the bank stores before an external audit discovers what has happened.
The three get into all kinds of scrapes as they try to retrieve the gold from the Russian billionaire who is under suspicion of the crime and, of course, Lisa and Nilly try a few of the doctor's wacky inventions (including the Fartonaut Powder) to try to get to the bottom of what has happened.
children's book of the week
I asked, with windows and doors being opened willy- nilly to let light spill out into the night with enemy bombers overhead.
Who dares sins
"It's their first TV ad and while we are not against lending out our characters, we don't do it willy- nilly. It has to be the right product."
Fat Slags advertise diet drink; Viz girls in pounds 50,000 TV deal