wily beguily en · NOUN
Etymology
Rhyming alteration of wily + beguile.
Meanings
- (obsolete) Someone who is caught by their own trickery; a person that becomes trapped by their own craftiness.
-
(obsolete) A cunning trick, something wily, trickery.
I often hazard upon certaine outslips of my minde for which I distrust my selfe; and certaine verball wilie-beguilies [translating finesses], whereat I shake mine eares; but I let them runne at hab or nab […].
1603, Michel de Montaigne, translated by John Florio, Essays, III.8:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| wily beguilies | Number=Plur | lexicographic |