What does agley mean?
"Agley" means awry or amiss — gone off course, wrong, or askew. It is an adverb used almost exclusively after verbs of motion or failure: plans go agley, schemes gang agley, arrangements run agley. The word is chiefly Scottish and literary, and its survival owes everything to Robert Burns, whose 1785 poem "To a Mouse" gave English one of its most quoted lines: "The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft agley." Because of that line, "agley" carries an unmistakably poetic, slightly archaic flavor; in ordinary modern speech and writing, "awry" or "amiss" would be the natural choices. Yet the word remains valuable precisely for its resonance — invoking it signals allusion to Burns, a wry acknowledgment that even the most careful human planning can be overturned by chance.
adverbOff the right line; awry, amiss, or askew. Used almost exclusively after verbs such as "go" or "gang" to describe plans that have gone wrong.
- Awry, amiss, off the intended course — said chiefly of plans, schemes, or designs that fail or miscarry.
"The best-laid plans often go agley."
"Despite months of preparation, the launch went agley when the supplier failed to deliver."
"As Burns observed, the best-laid schemes of mice and men often gang agley."
Immortalized in 1785 by Robert Burns — "the best-laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft agley" — this tiny Scottish word outlived nearly every other word in that famous poem.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of agley
"Agley" comes from Scots, formed from the prefix "a-" plus "gley," a Scots verb meaning to squint, glance aside, or look awry. It entered written English through Scottish literature and was fixed in the language by Robert Burns's use of it in "To a Mouse" (1785). The word remains tied to Scottish and literary usage rather than general colloquial English.
How agley is actually used
"Agley" is rare outside literary and deliberately archaic registers, and it survives largely because of Robert Burns's poem "To a Mouse." It follows verbs of going or running ("went agley," "ran agley") rather than modifying nouns. In modern prose, writers usually choose "awry," reserving "agley" for poetic effect or allusion to Burns.
Easily confused with agley
"Aglow" means glowing or radiant with light or emotion, whereas "agley" means gone wrong or off course; they share only the a- prefix and a similar rhythm.