# Sallies



## Maria V.

Hi! I read in Atwood's Alias Grace "i returned their sallies".It can't be the definition i read as it doesn't make any sense!The extract is of a gorl ghat is being flirted!


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## Acestor

Υπάρχει μια δεύτερη σημασία (περα από εκείνη της εξόρμησης). Στο ODE δίνεται ως εξής:

A witty or lively remark, especially one made as an attack or as a diversion in an argument; a retort.
‘there was subdued laughter at this sally’
‘his sally at Descartes’
Synonyms: witticism, witty remark, smart remark, quip, barb, pleasantry, epigram, aphorism
sally | Definition of sally in English by Lexico Dictionaries

Θα μπορούσαμε να πούμε: πείραγμα > ανταπέδωσα τα πειράγματά τους.


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## Maria V.

Acestor said:


> Υπάρχει μια δεύτερη σημασία (περα από εκείνη της εξόρμησης). Στο ODE δίνεται ως εξής:
> 
> A witty or lively remark, especially one made as an attack or as a diversion in an argument; a retort.
> ‘there was subdued laughter at this sally’
> ‘his sally at Descartes’
> Synonyms: witticism, witty remark, smart remark, quip, barb, pleasantry, epigram, aphorism
> sally | Definition of sally in English by Lexico Dictionaries
> 
> Θα μπορούσαμε να πούμε: πείραγμα > ανταπέδωσα τα πειράγματά τους.


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## Maria V.

Thank you!i sensed it was something like that but in the translation i would find only "military attack".


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## Maria V.

Maria V. said:


> Thank you!i sensed it was something like that but in the translation i would find only "military attack".


Θα μπορουσατε να  προτεινετε να το προσθεσουν στη λιστα ισως.


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## Helleno File

Acestor has it exactly right. It's an unusual word slightly formal, sometimes with a humorous undertone as in Maria V's example because it is hyperbolic.

I'm fairly sure the word has a French origin. It makes me think of Western European siege warfare of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries when the inhabitants of a besieged walled town would make a "sally" against the besiegers.


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## Παντελής

Maria V. said:


> Hi! I read in Atwood's Alias Grace "i returned their sallies".It can't be the definition i read as it doesn't make any sense!The extract is of a gorl ghat is being flirted!


Example sentences containing 'Sallies'

In spite of their desperate *sallies*, (Assaults from a defensive position) Jerusalem was surrounded by a wall


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## Παντελής

Maria V. said:


> Hi! I read in Atwood's Alias Grace "i returned their sallies".It can't be the definition i read as it doesn't make any sense!The extract is of a gorl ghat is being flirted!


For better understanding, Σαλα = φροντιδα Αισχύλος FR 312 
SALA = CARE from here we have  sallies, and sales and saloon and salary


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## Helleno File

Helleno File said:


> Acestor has it exactly right. It's an unusual word slightly formal, sometimes with a humorous undertone as in Maria V's example because it is hyperbolic.
> 
> I'm fairly sure the word has a French origin. It makes me think of Western European siege warfare of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries when the inhabitants of a besieged walled town would make a "sally" against the besiegers.





Παντελής said:


> For better understanding, Σαλα = φροντιδα Αισχύλος FR 312
> SALA = CARE from here we have  sallies, and sales and saloon and salary





> *sally (n.)*
> 1540s, "a sudden rush, dash, or springing forth; specifically of troops from a besieged place, attacking the besiegers," from Middle French saillie "a rushing forth," noun use of fem. past participle of saillir "to leap," from Latin salire "to leap" (see salient (adj.)). Sally-port "gate or passage in a fortification to afford free egress to troops in making a sally" is from 1640s.
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> sally | Origin and meaning of sally by Online Etymology Dictionary
Click to expand...


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## Acestor

Παντελής said:


> For better understanding, Σαλα = φροντιδα Αισχύλος FR 312
> SALA = CARE from here we have  sallies, and sales and saloon and salary



I bet you’ve missed _salad_…

Etymology is a most interesting science. The story behind _salary_, for example, is fascinating. Unless you’re just a troll with an agenda to undermine the seriousness of this forum, then what there is in your head which makes you think there is a Greek word behind every other word you see before you is depriving you of the opportunity to read the true stories of words and enjoy the beauty of their travels.


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