SLY. The epithet shj did not primarily imply anything dishonourable; though like ' crafty ' and ' cunning,' it has since come to be taken in a bad sense. Though the family did not " come in with Richard Conqueror," the Tinker is quite right in asserting that " the Slysare no rogues.'" (Taming of the Shrew. Induct.) for as Mr. C. Knight observes, " the Slys or Sleighs Averc sldlfid men — cunning of hand. We are Informed," he adds, " that Sly was anciently a common name in Shakspeare's own town."

Lower, Mark A (1860) Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom. London: J.R. Smith. Public Domain.