About The Word Sly
Learn about the word Sly to help solve your crossword puzzle. Discover Sly definitions and meaning, origins, synonyms, related terms and more at the free Crossword Dictionary.
Sly
| Sly Definition And Meaning |
|---|
What's The Definition Of Sly?
[adj] marked by skill in deception; "cunning men often pass for wise"; "deep political machinations"; "a foxy scheme"; "a slick evasive answer"; "sly as a fox"; "tricky Dick"; "a wily old attorney"
Synonyms | Synonyms for Sly: artful | crafty | cunning | dodgy | foxy | guileful | knavish | slick | tricksy | tricky | wily Related Terms | Find terms related to Sly: See Also | Sly In Webster's Dictionary \Sly\, a. [Compar. {Slier}or {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.
Be ye sly as serpents, and simple as doves. --Wyclif
(Matt. x. 16).
Whom graver age And long experience hath made wise
and sly. --Fairfax.
2. Artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily.
For my sly wiles and subtle craftiness, The litle of
the kingdom I possess. --Spenser.
3. Done with, and marked by, artful and dexterous secrecy;
subtle; as, a sly trick.
Envy works in a sly and imperceptible manner. --I.
Watts.
4. Light or delicate; slight; thin. [Obs.]
{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} (Zo["o]l.), the common sheldrake; -- so named
from its craftiness.
Syn: Cunning; crafty; subtile; wily. See {Cunning}.
\Sly\, adv. Slyly. [Obs. or Poetic] --Spenser. |
More Crossword Puzzle Words
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
Cross Word Of The Day
- Enjoyableness ‐ pleasantness resulting from something that can be enjoyed; "the…
- Play out ‐ become spent or exhausted; "The champion's strength played out…
- Hexapoda ‐ insects; about five-sixths of all known…
- Giant bamboo ‐ immense tropical southeast Asian bamboo with tough hollow culms…
- Attention-getting ‐ likely to attract attention; "a catchy title for a movie" [adj]…
- Alytes obstetricans ‐ European toad whose male carries the fertilized eggs wrapped…
- Jarringly ‐ in a manner that jars and irritates; "the piano was jarringly…
- Torricelli ‐ Italian physicist who invented the mercury barometer…
- Keratodermia ‐ any skin disorder consisting of a growth that…
- Platy ‐ small stocky Mexican fish; popular…