on the sly

on the sly
adverb
in a furtive manner
-

the soldiers were furtively crawling through the night

Syn: ↑furtively
Derived from adjective: ↑furtive (for: ↑furtively)

* * *

IN SECRET, secretly, furtively, surreptitiously, covertly, clandestinely, on the quiet, behind someone's back.
sly

* * *

adverb

read it, if at all, on the sly, to look for their names — A.C.Spectorsky

got married on the sly — Helen Rich

* * *

on the sly
Surreptitiously
• • •
Main Entry:sly

* * *

on the sly informal phrase
done secretly, especially because you know you should not be doing it

I’m supposed to be on a diet, but I still have the odd bar of chocolate on the sly.

Thesaurus: secret, secretive and in secretsynonym
Main entry: sly

* * *

in a secretive fashion

she was drinking on the sly

* * *

on the sly
informal : in a secret way

They've been meeting each other on the sly. [=secretly]

• • •
Main Entry:sly

* * *

on the ˈsly idiom
secretly; not wanting other people to discover what you are doing

He has to visit them on the sly.

Main entry:slyidiom

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • The Sly Trilogy — Éditeur Sony Computer Entertainment Développeur Sucker Punch Date de sortie …   Wikipédia en Français

  • By the sly — 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.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • On the sly — 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.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • on the sly — {adv. phr.} So that other people won t know; secretly. * /The boys smoked on the sly./ * /Mary s mother did not approve of lipstick, but Mary used it on the sly./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • on the sly — {adv. phr.} So that other people won t know; secretly. * /The boys smoked on the sly./ * /Mary s mother did not approve of lipstick, but Mary used it on the sly./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • on the sly —    If someone does something on the sly, they do it furtively or secretly.   (Dorking School Dictionary)    ***    If you do something on the sly, you do it secretly or furtively.     He made such quick progress that the others suspected him of… …   English Idioms & idiomatic expressions

  • on\ the\ sly — adv. phr. So that other people won t know; secretly. The boys smoked on the sly. Mary s mother did not approve of lipstick, but Mary used it on the sly …   Словарь американских идиом

  • on the sly — mod. secretly and deceptively. □ She was stealing little bits of money on the sly. □ Martin was having an affair with the maid on the sly …   Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions

  • on the sly — If someone does something on the sly, they do it furtively or secretly …   The small dictionary of idiomes

  • on the sly — ► on the sly in a surreptitious fashion. Main Entry: ↑sly …   English terms dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”