on the sly
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"On the sly," Onishi said, someone like that can "listen to the podcast, watch the YouTube channel" and come to understand "the other ways people think" and "why they left."
From Salon • Mar. 8, 2024
On the sly, at acoustic nights around Wimbledon, Treays even did the odd live show.
From The Guardian • Sep. 21, 2014
On the sly, he began to teach himself to play the violin.
From New York Times • Aug. 26, 2011
On the sly she has been writing a novel; she says "I can't write a straight line any more than I can draw one," meaning she prefers humor.
From Time Magazine Archive
For, mark the advantages of such a habitation— 'Up on high No neighbours pry In at the window, On the sly.
From The Magic Pudding by Lindsay, Norman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
