wily

/ˈwaɪli/

/ˈwaɪli/

Other forms: wiliest; wilier; wilily

Did you fall for that wily door-to-door salesman's pitch? He must be very slick and tricky to have convinced you to buy a set of new tires, considering you don't have a car.

How can you remember the meaning of the adjective wily? Just think about the old Warner Brothers Looney Tunes cartoons. Their aptly named cartoon character, Wile E. Coyote, got his name from a clever play on words. Wile E. is supposed to be cunning, crafty, and clever — in other words, wily. Wile E. is all those things, but unfortunately he was usually bested by that pesky roadrunner anyway. Meep. Meep.

Definitions of wily

1. adjective

   marked by skill in deception
   “a wily old attorney”

   synonyms: crafty, cunning, dodgy, foxy, guileful, knavish, slick, sly, tricksy, tricky

   artful

   marked by skill in achieving a desired end especially with cunning or craft