agley

== English == === Alternative forms === aglee, agly, gley === Etymology === From Scots agley. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /əˈɡleɪ/, /əˈɡliː/ Rhymes: -eɪ, -iː === Adverb === agley (comparative more agley, superlative most agley) (chiefly Scotland) Wrong, awry, askew, amiss, or distortedly. 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! 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. ==== Usage notes ==== The 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 agley is occasionally used in modern English, primarily in variants of this line, such as “our plans have gone agley” or “things went agley”. ==== See also ==== the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry === Adjective === agley (comparative more agley, superlative most agley) (Scotland) Wrong; askew. === Anagrams === Galey, Gayle, gayle == Scots == === Adverb === agley (not comparable) alternative form of aglee === References === “agley, adv., adj.”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC.