agley

The plan went agley when the wind blew the papers away.

Definition

1. Adverb:
   • Amiss or awry: "agley" means in a manner that is wrong, crooked, or askew, particularly used in Scottish English to describe something that has gone off course or failed to proceed as planned.

Usage Examples

• Adverb:
  • The best-laid plans of mice and men often go agley. (Plans frequently go wrong or fail.)
  • His carefully prepared speech went agley when the microphone stopped working. (The speech went awry due to technical issues.)
  • The project started well, but everything went agley after the budget cuts. (The project turned out badly.)

Advanced Usage

• "To gang agley": a Scottish phrase meaning to go wrong or to fail.

  • Despite his best efforts, the deal ganged agley at the last moment. (The deal failed unexpectedly.)

• "Go agley": the most common modern usage, often seen in literary or poetic contexts.

  • Her dreams of becoming a dancer went agley after her injury. (Her aspirations were thwarted.)

Variants and Related Words

• Agley (adj, rare): crooked or askew.
  • The picture hung agley on the wall. (The picture was not straight.)

Synonyms

• Awry: away from the expected or proper direction; wrong.
• Amiss: in a faulty or improper manner.
• Askew: not in a straight or level position; crooked.
• Wrong: not correct or in accordance with facts or truth.

Related Idioms

• The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft agley: a line from Robert Burns' poem "To a Mouse," meaning that even carefully made plans often fail.
  • We had high hopes for the event, but as Burns said, the best-laid schemes gang aft agley. (Plans frequently go wrong.)