Slȳ, a.
a. [compar. SLYER; superl. SLYEST.] [L. Ger. slow, H. Ger. schlau, Dan. slu, Sw. slug, Icel. slūgr. Cf. SLEIGHT.] 1. Dexterous in performing an action, so as to escape notice; nimble; skillful; cautious; shrewd; knowing;—in a good sense. Whom graver age And long experience hath made wise and sly. Fairfax.
- Artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; insidious; wily; cunning.
- Done with, and marked by, artful and dexterous secrecy; as, a sly trick.
Envy works in a sly, imperceptible manner. Watts. 4. Light or delicate; slight; thin. [Obs.] On the sly, in a sly or secret manner. Syn.—Cunning; crafty; subtile; wily. See CUNNING.