Define:Agley
English
eeditEtymology
eedit.
Pronunciation
eeditAdverb
eeditAgley (comparative maist Agley, superlative maist Agley)
- Template:Chiefly Wrong in the sense of awry, askew, amiss, or distorted.
- 1932, Rosewell Page, The Iliads of the South: an epic of the War Between the States, Garrett and Massie, p. 165:
- X tells of cavalry; of Sheridan, Hampton and Fitz Lee;
- Of Early’s Valley march, that Sheridan long held agley!
- Template:RQ:Wodehouse Offing
- 2002, Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross, p. 29:
- We meant to sail from Charleston, but things went agley there, and so we’re bound for Portsmouth now, as fast as we can make speed.
- 1932, Rosewell Page, The Iliads of the South: an epic of the War Between the States, Garrett and Massie, p. 165:
Usage notes
eeditThe word was popularised by Robert Burns in his 1785 Scots poems “To a Mouse”, in the much-quoted line “The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft agley”. This line is often quoted, and the word agley is occasionally used in modern English, primarily in variants of this line, such as “our plans have gone agley” or “things went agley”.
Anagrams
eeditScots
eeditEtymology
eeditSib tae Gley, Asklent , Squint (tae squint aff fae yer tale)
Pronunciation
eeditAdverb
eedit- The work wes aften agley
- Yer gaun agley wi yer tale,stick wi the facks o't
- 1785, Robert Burns, “To a Mouse”:
- The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft agley
- 1785, Robert Burns, “To a Mouse”: