What's the difference between sly and wily?

Sly


Definition:

  • (v. t.) Dexterous in performing an action, so as to escape notice; nimble; skillful; cautious; shrewd; knowing; -- in a good sense.
  • (v. t.) Artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily.
  • (v. t.) Done with, and marked by, artful and dexterous secrecy; subtle; as, a sly trick.
  • (v. t.) Light or delicate; slight; thin.
  • (adv.) Slyly.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) High pressure liquid chromatography combined with radioimmunoassay showed marked heterogeneity of SPLI and SLI.
  • (2) Evidence of the industrial panic surfaced at Digital Britain when Sly Bailey, the chief executive of Trinity Mirror, suggested that national newspaper websites that chased big online audiences have "devalued news" , whatever that might mean.
  • (3) "It is incredibly hard work," she says with a sly grin.
  • (4) The concentration of somatostatin-like immunoreactivity (SLI) was determined by specific radioimmunoassay in the cerebroventricular fluid of patients with tumours of the basal midline and compared to findings in patients with multiple sclerosis.
  • (5) These neurons are known to also contain somatostatin-like immunoreactivity (SLI).
  • (6) "Everyone calls him the Socialist Worker Padre," one bland senior cleric told me with a sly and dismissive laugh.
  • (7) Minimal pairs differing only in the voicing feature of the initial consonant were produced by four SLI and four language-matched NL children.
  • (8) We studied the effect of tetrahydroaminoacridine (THA) on cerebrospinal fluid somatostatin-like immunoreactivity (CSF-SLI) in probable Alzheimer disease (AD) patients (n = 20) who took part in an open THA treatment trial.
  • (9) The characteristics of children with specific language impairment (SLI) attending four language units in the north-west of England are examined.
  • (10) This work was undertaken to study the effect of glucose on pancreaticoduodenal and peripheral venous somatostatin-like immunoreactivity (SLI) levels in dogs.
  • (11) Sly, underhanded, contemptuous, mendacious, double-dealing, cheating democracy.
  • (12) Grigson is clearly relishing the task ahead, having already toured major investors and playing a key role in the pay dispute, which ultimately resulted in Sly Bailey stepping down after a decade running the publisher of the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, People and 140 regional newspapers late on Thursday.
  • (13) The most conspicuous feature of the elution profiles was the preponderance of the peak coeluting with synthetic somatostatin-14, whereas the peaks comigrating with synthetic somatostatin-28 and attributable to precursor-like SLI represented only minor or trace amounts of total immunoreactivity.
  • (14) Yet the whole thing was sly and subversive, for it whispered, see, see what you have been missing.
  • (15) The provision of structure in the form of thematically related toy sets, instructions, and modeling did not reduce the discrepancy between demonstrated play behaviors of toddlers with SLI-E and their normally developing peers.
  • (16) SLI levels were found to be significantly lower on day 4 after delivery, compared to 3-4 months later.
  • (17) There was a weak but statistically significant correlation between SLI values in CSF and neuropsychological test scores.
  • (18) The ME was microdissected for determination of SLI content.
  • (19) Sly Bailey, the chief executive of Trinity Mirror, said that the company made £25m in savings and would have increased adjusted operating profits year-on-year if not for a £22m rise in newsprint prices.
  • (20) A great interindividual variation in SLI levels was observed (a range of 0.02 to 5.30 nanograms per milligram of weight).

Wily


Definition:

  • (superl.) Full of wiles, tricks, or stratagems; using craft or stratagem to accomplish a purpose; mischievously artful; subtle.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) They could go out and trade for a pitcher such as the New York Mets’ Bartolo Colón , an obvious choice despite his 41 years, but he would come with an $11m price tag for next season and have to pass through the waiver wires process first – considering the wily mood Billy Beane is in this year, the A’s could be the team that blocks such a move.
  • (2) A wily character, he initially refused, saying the deadline was impossible.
  • (3) Noted for his Savile Row suits and languid charm, he was nevertheless a tough and wily reporter in the field, using his wits to escape death on more than one occasion.
  • (4) The News of the World said it was £750,000 ("Wily Vanessa teamed up with PR to the stars Max Clifford and the pound signs began rolling in her eyes," its reporter claimed).
  • (5) on Saturday the Liberal Democrat peer Lord Oakeshott summed up the feelings of many in the party when he suggested that the "wily" Tories had deliberately used their coalition partners as shields to deflect public anger.
  • (6) Scotland shows how that can give an illusion of success which will evaporate at the moment of choice, especially when up against a wily and ruthless incumbent.
  • (7) The wily Brazilian, managing in a record sixth World Cup, said he would make "one, maybe two" changes to the starting line‑up.
  • (8) Wily and smart, she is more than a match for the suitors who attempt to claim her in his absence; and she is no pushover, either, when Odysseus finally turns up.
  • (9) Opinion polls in recent months have repeatedly shown that Tsvangirai's popularity has been hurt by divisions within the opposition and his own scandalous love-life , putting him and Mugabe neck-and-neck, with the wily president even edging in front on occasion.
  • (10) Harradine was a wily negotiator and kept Howard guessing on his support for the goods and services tax.
  • (11) Team spirit might be an ethereal quality that is difficult to quantify on scoreboards and league tables but Karanka has given confidence to the players he inherited, been a wily transfer dealer, particularly this season with the loan signings of the strikers Patrick Bamford and Jelle Vossen, and brought through young home-grown players from the club’s academy, such as Ben Gibson and Adam Reach, who are now integral members of the squad.
  • (12) But out of nothing, Frank Farina's men were awarded a penalty just before half-time won by the wily Del Piero.
  • (13) Guns, gates and guards can only provide so much protection against a wily, creative adversary who is willing to risk oblivion.
  • (14) The wily old tease may have been mugging for the studio audience, lapping up the howls of disappointment that no doubt followed such a statement.
  • (15) A blizzard of visual sexual signifiers – fake nails, big hair, Dita Von Teese figure balanced on impossibly high stilts – and her "Jessica Rabbit sex appeal" (again, self-proclaimed) belies a wily business brain.
  • (16) Wily Ukraine national coach Oleg Blokhin also tasted victory in court after he was forced to resign from the position because of his other job, as a Ukrainian MP.
  • (17) He flew to Brazil hoping to bring him back, but he had underestimated the wily Biggs whose girlfriend, Raimunda, announced that she was expecting his child.
  • (18) Wily David Carney chalked one up for the nay-saying ageists by outfoxing youngster Thomas Deng to execute a superb run and finish, one which was harder than it may have seemed.
  • (19) After Cantor fell, McCarthy showed himself a wily tactician, coming fast out of the block and letting it be known he was the heir apparent with the necessary votes, all but sealing the majority leader race within 48 hours.
  • (20) So, when browsing, an open mind is far more effective than knowing exactly what you want – eBay works topically, so avoid anything worn by Kate Middleton and all high-street capsule collections, eg last week's Versace line for H&M, which wily types bought en masse and are currently reselling at marked-up prices.