Found 2 items, similar to on the sly.
English → English (WordNet)
Definition: on the sly
on the sly
adv : in a furtive manner;
“the soldiers were furtively crawling
through the night” [syn:
furtively]
English → English (gcide)
Definition: On the sly
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.
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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 (Zo["o]l.), the common sheldrake; -- so named
from its craftiness.
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Syn: Cunning; crafty; subtile; wily. See
Cunning.
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