on the sly
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The math-proficiency analysis suggests it may be doing so on the sly.
“They want me to go in with them on the sly,” says Colonel Sellers, the anti-hero of that novel.
From Salon
We were forbidden to speak Urdu, but my mother still taught us on the sly.
From New York Times
He was paroled from detention but banned from work and national health insurance, though he worked on the sly until about eight years ago, when the government started to tighten controls over parolees.
From Los Angeles Times
You steal work from US writers on the sly, and you're blacklisted.
From Los Angeles Times
From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.