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slier |
1 definition found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Sly \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} (Zo["o]l.), the common sheldrake; -- so named from its craftiness. Syn: Cunning; crafty; subtile; wily. See {Cunning}.
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