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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