sally

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
   • The besieged made another Sally, and killed several of the Enemy at Penyburn-Hill, but were forced to Retreat, being pressed by the Enemies Horse, who charged us on all sides.1689, George Walker, A true account of the siege of London-Derry by the Reverend Mr. George Walker, London, page 24
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
   • Bull snuffed; he never paid any attention to her sallies but he heard them.1957 September 5, Jack Kerouac, On the Road, New York, N.Y.: Viking Press, →OCLC
4. An excursion or side trip.
   • Everyone shall know a country better that makes often sallies into it, and traverses it up and down, than he that […] goes still round in the same track.a. 1705, John Locke, “Of the Conduct of the Understanding”, in Posthumous Works of Mr. John Locke: […], London: […] A[wnsham] and J[ohn] Churchill, […], published 1706, →OCLC
5. A tufted woollen part of a bellrope, used to provide grip when ringing a bell.

Verb

sally (third-person singular simple present sallies, present participle sallying, simple past and past participle sallied)

1. (intransitive) To make a sudden attack (e.g. on an enemy from a defended position).
   • The troops sallied in desperation.
   • A feeding strategy of some birds is to sally out from a perch to snatch an insect and then returning to the same or a different perch.
2. (intransitive) To set out on an excursion; venture; depart (often followed by "forth").
   • So I tucked my violin under my arm, and sallied out after the old budgy ragman, determined to ease him of his load at the very first lonesome corner I could track him to.1876, The Shamrock, volume 14
   • Adverse comment begins with uncomplimentary observations on the somewhat harder seats, then reaches a crescendo when it is discovered that the perverse and unhurried train is actually going to wait for another connection which is running late, instead of sallying forth at once for the benefit of...1942 July-August, “The Country Branch”, in Railway Magazine, page 194
3. (intransitive) To venture off the beaten path.

Noun (3)

sally (plural sallies)

1. (New Zealand, slang) A member of the Salvation Army.

   Synonyms:

   Salvo

Noun (4)

sally (plural sallies)

1. A kind of stonefly.
2. A wren.

Noun (5)

sally

1. (Canada, US, slang) The crystalline or powdered form of MDA.

Proper noun capitalized: Sally

IPA/ˈsæl.i/

Sally (plural Sallys or Sallies)

1. A diminutive of the female given name Sarah, also used as a formal given name.
   • She submitted―for what alternative did she have?―to being Sally in this family, but she always signed herself, Sarah.1969, Doris Lessing, The Four-Gated City, Bantam Books, published 1970, page 114
   • Maybe her first name was Sally, but David thought he would have remembered a name like that; there were so few Sallys these days. Now the world belonged to Ambers, Ashleys, and Tiffanys.2008, Stephen King, Just After Sunset, Simon and Schuster, published 2009, →ISBN, page 8
2. (UK, slang) A nickname for the Salvation Army.

Noun (6) capitalized: Sally

IPA/ˈsæl.i/

Sally

1. (Canada, US, slang) Alternative letter-case form of sally: the crystalline or powdered form of MDA.