But though the bear in the picture was a disguised man he appeared so naturally calm, so benignly strong, that beside him Pete […] looked comparatively shifty and agley. 1983, Alasdair Gray, “The Great Bear Cult”, in Every Short Story 1951-2012, Canongate, published 2012, page 57:
(Scotland) Wrong, awry, askew, amiss, or distortedly.
“I don't know if you know the meaning of the word ‘agley’, Kipper, but that, to put it in a nutshell, is the way things have ganged.” 1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, “XII AND XV”, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, →OCLC:
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. 2002, Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross, p. 29
"You bastard."
"I beg your pardon Miss Martin. What did you say."
"You heard me."
All I need. For Miss Martin to go agley on me. Pout, stamp and generally upstage my authority. When they learn about your inner life, wham they take liberties with the outer. Until one is driven to putting on the stone face with creases downturned around the eyes and mouth. Scowl. 1963, J P Donleavy, A Singular Man, published 1963 (USA), page 125:
X tells of cavalry; of Sheridan, Hampton and Fitz Lee;
Of Early’s Valley march, that Sheridan long held agley! 1932, Rosewell Page, The Iliads of the South: an epic of the War Between the States, Garrett and Massie, p. 165