by the sly

1 definition found

by the sly - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Sly \Sly\, a. [Compar. Slieror Slyer; superl. Sliest or
     Slyest.] [OE. sli, slegh, sleih, Icel. sl?gr, for sl?gr;
     akin to Sw. slug, Dan. slu, LG. slou, G. schlau; probably to
     E. slay, v.t.; cf. G. verschlagen sly. See Slay, v. t., and
     cf. Sleight.]
     1. Dexterous in performing an action, so as to escape notice;
        nimble; skillful; cautious; shrewd; knowing; -- in a good
        sense.
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              Be ye sly as serpents, and simple as doves. --Wyclif
                                                    (Matt. x. 16).
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              Whom graver age
              And long experience hath made wise and sly.
                                                    --Fairfax.
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     2. Artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily.
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              For my sly wiles and subtle craftiness,
              The litle of the kingdom I possess.   --Spenser.
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     3. Done with, and marked by, artful and dexterous secrecy;
        subtle; as, a sly trick.
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              Envy works in a sly and imperceptible manner. --I.
                                                    Watts.
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     4. Light or delicate; slight; thin. [Obs.]
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     By the sly, or On the sly, in a sly or secret manner.
        [Colloq.] "Gazed on Hetty's charms by the sly." --G.
        Eliot.
  
     Sly goose (Zool.), the common sheldrake; -- so named from
        its craftiness.
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     Syn: Cunning; crafty; subtile; wily. See Cunning.
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