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Alley vs Agley - What's the difference?

alley | agley |

As a noun alley

is a narrow street or passageway, especially one through the middle of a block giving access to the rear of lots or buildings or alley can be a glass marble or taw.

As an adverb agley is

(chiefly|scotland) wrong in the sense of awry, askew, amiss, or distorted.

As an adjective agley is

(scotland) wrong; askew.

alley

English

(wikipedia alley)

Etymology 1

(etyl) and (etyl) alee, feminine of .

Noun

(en noun)
  • A narrow street or passageway, especially one through the middle of a block giving access to the rear of lots or buildings.
    • The parking lot to my friend's apartment building is in the alley .
  • (baseball) The area between the outfielders, the gap.
    • He hit one deep into the alley .
  • (bowling) An establishment where bowling is played; bowling alley.
  • (tennis) The extra area between the sidelines or tramlines on a tennis court that is used for doubles matches.
  • A walk or passage in a garden or park, bordered by rows of trees or bushes.
  • * Milton
    • I know each lane and every alley green.
  • A passageway between rows of pews in a church.
  • (perspective drawing) Any passage having the entrance represented as wider than the exit, so as to give the appearance of length.
  • The space between two rows of compositors' stands in a printing office.
    • Derived terms
    * alleyway * up someone's alley

    See also

    * alleyway * bunnyrun * gennel, ginnel, gunnel, jennel * jitty * lane * passage * snicket * wynd

    Etymology 2

    Diminutive of (alabaster).

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A glass marble or taw.

    • Anagrams

    *

    agley

    English

    Alternative forms

    * gley

    Adverb

    (en adverb)
  • (chiefly, Scotland) Wrong in the sense of awry, askew, amiss, or distorted.
  • * 1932 , Rosewell Page, The Iliads of the South: an epic of the War Between the States, Garrett and Massie, p. 165:
    • X tells of cavalry; of Sheridan, Hampton and Fitz Lee;
    Of Early’s Valley march, that Sheridan long held agley !
  • *
  • * 2002 , (Diana Gabaldon), The Fiery Cross, p. 29:
    • 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.

    Usage notes

    The word was popularised by (Robert Burns) in his 1785 Scots poems “(To a Mouse)”, in the much-quoted line “The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft agley'”. This line is often quoted, and the word '''agley''' is occasionally used in modern English, primarily in variants of this line, such as “our plans have gone '''agley'''” or “things went ' agley ”.

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • (Scotland) Wrong; askew.
  • *1983 , (Alasdair Gray), ‘The Great Bear Cult’, Canongate 2012 (Every Short Story 1951-2012 ), p. 57:
  • *: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 .

    • Anagrams

    * ----