dolly

noun

1. (childish, colloquial)A doll.

   “‘He pushed one of my dolly’s eyes in,’ sobbed Dora, hugging her dolly as she replied.”

2. A roughly cylindrical wooden object used as a base when molding pie crust.
3. A contrivance for stirring:

   “LAUNDRY. 1 Dolly tub and pegs 2 Mangle 3 Washing machine”

   “In its most common form, the dolly was a four- or five-legged stool attached to an upright handle about three feet long with a crossbar handle at the top.”

4. A contrivance for stirring:

   “The dolly tub or rinsing bucket, fig. 630., has an upright shaft which bears the vane or dolly a b, turned by the winch handle.”

5. A tool with an indented head for shaping the head of a rivet.

   “A, is the steam or air cylinder for forcing the dolly B, hard against the rivet head while rivetting: when used for making rivets the dolly B, is unshipped, and the rivet heading apparatus substituted.”

6. In pile driving, a block interposed between the head of the pile and the ram of the driver.
7. A small truck with a single wide roller used for moving heavy beams, columns, etc., in bridge building.
8. A small truck without means of steering, to be slipped under a load.
9. An unpowered vehicle (trailer) designed for connection to a tractor unit, truck or prime mover vehicle, with strong traction power.
10. A compact, narrow-gauge locomotive used for moving construction trains, switching, etc.
11. A specialized piece of film equipment resembling a little cart on which a camera is mounted.
12. (slang)A young woman, especially one who is frivolous or vapid.

    “But really you get your money from selling things — that's your line, and your Dad's isn't it? Using sexy dollies to con money out of people who've had to work for it. Well my daughter's not just a sugar-plum fairy to titillate men's fantasies, you know.”

    “This glorious collection should be passed around clubland as a textbook study in making a seamless transition from being a disco dolly to a serious pop vocalist.”

13. (UK, dated, slang)A fashionable young woman, one who follows the latest music or clothing fashions.

    “Spotlight on the other hand is remarkable for prices and skirt lengths to suit the teenyboppers[…] Appeal: to a lunchtime horde of date-going dollies who cannot really afford another dress.”

14. (dated)A ball hit by a batsman such that it goes gently to a fielder for a simple catch.
15. A marker placed on the winning number by the dealer at roulette.
16. (abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis)Ellipsis of dolly shop.

    “There’s 2d. a week to pay for 1s. at a dolly, and perhaps an old rug left for it; if it’s very hard weather, the rug must be taken at night time, or we are starved with the cold. It sometimes has to be put into the dolly again next morning, and then there’s 2d. to pay for it for the day.”

17. (obsolete)An old gambling device, found in dolly shops, with the figure of an old man or "dolly", and a spiral hole down which a dropped marble would proceed to one of a set of numbered holes.
18. (India)An offering of fruit or flowers.

    “In some parts of India the dolly has grown into an extravagance consisting sometimes of bushels of fruit, nuts, and confectionery, with bottles of champagne and liqueurs.”

19. (abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis)Ellipsis of Dolly Parton.
20. (abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis)Ellipsis of Dolly Varden trout.

    “Dolly Varden is the staple catch. To a point that, after two days, we find ourselves feeling guilty trying to shake them free from our fly or giving plenty of slack in the hope that another Dolly finds early freedom. […] Often the biggest challenge of hooking a big trout is avoiding Dollies.”

verb

1. (transitive)To hit a dolly.
2. (transitive)To move (an object) using a dolly.
3. (intransitive)To move a camera (usually toward or away from its subject) using a dolly.
4. (transitive)To wash (laundry) in a tub using the stirring device called a dolly.
5. (transitive)To beat (red-hot metal) with a hammer.
6. (transitive)To crush ore with a dolly.
7. (often, with-up)To make somebody or something look attractive.

   “Referring to the "hero of the day," No. 92220, Mr. Hanks acceded that she was not of the Great Western breed, but they had done their best to make up for that by "dollying her up in good old Western colours and conferring upon her the finest honour we can—the halo or crown of Swindon, the copper top to her chimney."”

adj

1. (Polari)Pretty; attractive.

   “Divine. Sitting, sipping a tiny drinkette, vadaïng the great butch omis and dolly little palones trolling by, or disporting yourself on the sable plage getting your lallies all bronzed - your riah getting bleached by the soleil.”

   “She minces past the brandy latch / to vada dolly dish for trade, silly / with oomph and taste to park.”

2. (Sheffield, Yorkshire, especially)Left-handed (also dolly-handed, dolly-pawed, dolly-posh).

name

1. A diminutive of the female given names Dorothy, Dolores, or Doris.

   “Her name is Dorothy, though everyone has always called her Dolly. I do not know why, for there is nothing doll-like about her. She is a large, vigorous woman with the broad face and heavy hair of a tinker's wife.”