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Meanings of on the sly in English

In a furtive manner.

In an inconspicuous, not easily noticeable, manner.

Synonyms
Examples for "inconspicuously"
Examples for "inconspicuously"
1
He took the elevator upstairs, and waited inconspicuously in the reception area.
Kaleidoscope
2
I extend a wing inconspicuously, trying to more accurately gauge the temperature.
Seraphina
3
And then, as quietly and inconspicuously as he could, he'd slip away.
American empire: blood and iron
4
This he could carry inconspicuously in a belt around his waist.
Frontier Boys in Frisco
5
We must go through life so inconspicuously that Fate does not notice us.
The Moon and Sixpence
Usage of on the sly in English
1
That maid said she bought it on the sly all the time.
Sleeping Fires: a Novel
2
I think sometimes he runs away and does it on the sly.
A Little Girl of Long Ago; Or, Hannah Ann / A Sequel to a Little...
3
He watched her on the sly as she moved about the room.
The Grim Smile of the Five Towns
4
Half the time Jeff bets against his own horse, on the sly.
Cow-Country
5
Cleopatra, have you been in the kitchen drinking milk on the sly?
In the Courts of Memory, 1858-1875; from Contemporary Letters
6
There, drinking is rather an aristocratic indulgence, enjoyed only on the sly.
Justice in the By-Ways, a Tale of Life
7
I've always imagined that he may have written poems on the sly.
The Haunted Bookshop
8
How Madame Valière must have gorged on the sly, the rich eccentric!
The Grey Wig: Stories and Novelettes
9
However, the banking details used for this process were changed on the sly.
The South African
10
The age group that's most likely to keep financial accounts on the sly?
Reuters
11
It's come to the point where you drink on the sly.
Aimez-vous Brahms
12
People read his book on the sly and talked about it in whispers.
O. Henry Memorial Award Prize Stories of 1921
13
She did some on the sly-ina scared kind of way.
The Visioning: A Novel
14
Tonight the cook was too busy to approach on the sly.
King rolen's kin: the uncrowned king
15
I'd planned to get out on the sly tonight, while in here officially.
Dick Prescott's First Year at West Point; Or, Two Chums in the C...
16
Maltese Knights and Maltese cats do their killing on the sly.
In the Courts of Memory, 1858-1875; from Contemporary Letters