Sly , adv. Slyly. [Obs. or Poetic]
Spenser.
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 (Zoöl.),
the common sheldrake; -- so named from its craftiness.
Syn. -- Cunning; crafty; subtile; wily. See Cunning.
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