Wyly

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. In a way that expresses dry humor or ironic amusement, often with a twist of sarcasm
2. With a mildly sarcastic or dryly witty tone that shows subtle mockery or irony
3. In a manner marked by gently sardonic or ironically humorous expression

Etymology: "Wyly" is a variant spelling of "wily," and the two words are one and the same in meaning: crafty, sly, skilled at getting one's way through cunning. The "wiley" spelling appears in the source as the form it varies from, so the 'y' spelling is simply an older or alternate way of writing the same adjective. Because the variant is a matter of spelling rather than a separate word, its history is the history of "wily" itself. Wiley, and by extension wily, belongs to the same family of English words built on the idea of guile and trickery. Readers who meet "wyly" in older texts or in some personal names can read it as an ordinary spelling choice rather than a distinct vocabulary item.