agley

or a·gly

[ uh-glee, uh-gley, uh-glahy ]

adverb

, Chiefly Scot.

1. off the right line; awry; wrong.

agley

/ əˈɡliː; əˈɡliː; əˈɡleɪ; əˈɡlaɪ /

adverb

1. awry; askew

Word History and Origins

Origin of agley¹

1775–85; a- ¹ + gley glee ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of agley¹

from gley squint

Example Sentences

We believed in family planning, but, as poet Robert Burns noted in his rustic dialect: “The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft agley.”

From Washington Post

Our schemes were wonderfully — but exhaustingly — agley.

From Washington Post

A classic example is the poetry of Robert Burns, who wrote “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men/ Gang aft agley.”

From Slate

But the best-laid plans of aardvarks and astrophysicists oft go agley.

From Scientific American

An attempt to pull the magnets out with pliers also went agley when the tool itself became magnetized, leading to some spooky nose action at a rather small distance—think of a diminutive metal wand with a sole magic power: the ability to move your nose around from an inch away.

From Scientific American