| 释义 |
on the sly
sly S0487700 (slī)adj. sli·er (slī′ər), sli·est (slī′ĕst) also sly·er or sly·est 1. Clever or cunning, especially in the practice of deceit.2. Stealthy or surreptitious: took a sly look at the letter on the table.3. Playfully mischievous: a sly laugh.Idiom: on the sly In a way intended to escape notice: took extra payments on the sly.
[Middle English sleigh, from Old Norse slœgr.]
sly′ly adv.sly′ness n.Thesaurus| Adv. | 1. | on the sly - in a furtive manner; "the soldiers were furtively crawling through the night"furtively |
Translationson the sly
on the slySecretly; in a clandestine or furtive manner. Even though he said he'd quit smoking, he still kept up the habit on the sly. The senator had been taking bribes from lobbyists on the sly for years before he was caught.See also: on, slyon the slyFig. secretly and deceptively. She was stealing little bits of money on the sly. Martin was having an affair with the maid on the sly.See also: on, slyon the slyFurtively, secretly, as in She's always eating cookies on the sly. The adjective sly, which means "cunning" or "crafty," is here used as a noun. [c. 1800] See also: on, slydo something on the ˈsly do something secretly: She didn’t seem to have much appetite for dinner. I wonder if she’s been eating chocolates on the sly? OPPOSITE: (out) in(to) the openSee also: on, sly, somethingon the sly mod. secretly and deceptively. She was stealing little bits of money on the sly. See also: on, sly on the sly In a way intended to escape notice: took extra payments on the sly.See also: on, slyon the slySecretly, furtively. This early-nineteenth-century term appeared in a letter of John Keats’s (1818): “It might have been a good joke to pour on the sly bottle after bottle into a washing tub.” It remains current. See also: on, slyMedicalSeeSlyon the sly
Related to on the sly: get on, fall apart, catch up, stay put, turn up, called offSynonyms for on the slyadv in a furtive mannerSynonyms |