Sly

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Sly \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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Syn: Cunning; crafty; subtile; wily. See {Cunning}.
          [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Sly \Sly\, adv.
     Slyly. [Obs. or Poetic] --Spenser.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  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 Dik";
             "a wily old attorney" [syn: {crafty}, {cunning}, {dodgy},
              {foxy}, {guileful}, {knavish}, {slick}, {tricksy}, {tricky},
              {wily}]
       [also: {slyest}, {slyer}, {sliest}, {slier}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  98 Moby Thesaurus words for "sly":
     Byzantine, Machiavellian, Machiavellic, acute, adroit, arch,
     artful, astute, back-door, backstairs, cagey, calculating, canny,
     clandestine, clever, covert, crafty, creep, crooked, cunning, cute,
     deceitful, deep, deep-laid, designing, devious, dexterous,
     diplomatic, dishonest, disingenuous, downy, feline, foxy, furtive,
     guileful, gumshoe, hidlings, hole-and-corner, hugger-mugger,
     ingenious, insidious, inventive, knowing, lurk, masterful, pawky,
     politic, predatory, privy, quiet, ready, resourceful, scheming,
     serpentine, shady, sharp, shifty, shrewd, skulk, skulking, slick,
     slide, slim, slink, slinking, slinky, slippery, smart, smooth,
     snake, snaky, sneaking, sneaky, snook, sophistical, steal,
     stealthy, strategic, subtile, subtle, supple, surreptitious,
     tactical, trickish, tricksy, tricky, under-the-counter,
     under-the-table, undercover, underground, underhand, underhanded,
     unfrank, unobtrusive, unscrupulous, vulpine, wary, wily