GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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Found 2 definitions

1.       
   Sly (?), a. [Compar. Slier (?) or Slyer; superl. Sliest or Slyest.] [OE. sli, slegh, sleih, Icel. slgr, for slgr; 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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2.       
   Sly, adv. Slyly. [Obs. or Poetic]  Spenser.
   
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