SALLY (sallied)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: sallied   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does sally mean? 

• SALLY (noun)
  The noun SALLY has 3 senses:

1. witty remark

2. a military action in which besieged troops burst forth from their position

3. a venture off the beaten path

  Familiarity information: SALLY used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SALLY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Witty remark

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

crack; quip; sally; wisecrack

Hypernyms ("sally" is a kind of...):

comment; input; remark (a statement that expresses a personal opinion or belief or adds information)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A military action in which besieged troops burst forth from their position

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

sally; sortie

Hypernyms ("sally" is a kind of...):

action; military action (a military engagement)

Domain category:

armed forces; armed services; military; military machine; war machine (the military forces of a nation)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A venture off the beaten path

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

sally; sallying forth

Context example:

a sally into the wide world beyond his home

Hypernyms ("sally" is a kind of...):

venture (any venturesome undertaking especially one with an uncertain outcome)

 Context examples 

“A sally, Du Guesclin, a sally!” cried Sir Nigel.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

When I had first sallied from the door, the other mutineers had been already swarming up the palisade to make an end of us.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

He laughed loudly at his own sally, but Hans's face was frozen into a sullen ghastliness that nothing less than the trump of doom could have broken.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

She saw Mr. Lawrence drive off, and then sallied out to dig her way down to the hedge, where she paused and took a survey.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

I heard of the difference of sexes, and the birth and growth of children, how the father doted on the smiles of the infant, and the lively sallies of the older child, how all the life and cares of the mother were wrapped up in the precious charge, how the mind of youth expanded and gained knowledge, of brother, sister, and all the various relationships which bind one human being to another in mutual bonds.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

Well, to come to an end of the matter, Mr. Holmes, and not to abuse your patience, there came a night when he made one of those drunken sallies from which he never came back.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

After making one or two sallies to her relief, which were rendered futile by the umbrella's hopping on again, like an immense bird, before I could reach it, I came in, went to bed, and slept till morning.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Then he sallied forth.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Elizabeth soon perceived, that though this great lady was not in commission of the peace of the county, she was a most active magistrate in her own parish, the minutest concerns of which were carried to her by Mr. Collins; and whenever any of the cottagers were disposed to be quarrelsome, discontented, or too poor, she sallied forth into the village to settle their differences, silence their complaints, and scold them into harmony and plenty.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

Sally, or rather Sarah (for what young lady of common gentility will reach the age of sixteen without altering her name as far as she can?), must from situation be at this time the intimate friend and confidante of her sister.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)