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.
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.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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