sallies

Noun (1)

sally (plural sallies)

1. A willow.
2. Any tree that resembles a willow.
3. An object made from the wood of a willow.

Noun (2)

sally (plural sallies)

1. A sortie of troops from a besieged place against an enemy.
   • The rest of his horsemen the Duke sent to his campe, bicause they heard a great noise there, and doubted the enimies sally, and indeede they had issued foorth thrise, but were alwaies repulsed, especially through the valiantns of the English men that the Duke left there behind him [...]1596, Philippe de Commynes, The historie of Philip de Commines Knight, Lord of Argenton, London: Ar. Hatfield, pages 50-51
2. A sudden rushing forth.
   • Flocks of these birds stir up flying insects, which can then be picked off in quick sallies.
3. (figuratively) A witty statement or quip, usually at the expense of one's interlocutor.
   • Till then she had never formed an idea of one so gifted and so charming. She listened with astonishment to her companion's gay sallies, and answers, as piquant as they were ready.1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “The First Doubt”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 39

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