agley

Etymology
From.

Adverb

 * 1)  Wrong, awry, askew, amiss, or distortedly.
 * 2) * 1932, Rosewell Page, The Iliads of the South: an epic of the War Between the States, Garrett and Massie, p. 165:
 * X tells of cavalry; of Sheridan, Hampton and Fitz Lee;
 * Of Early’s Valley march, that Sheridan long held agley!
 * 1) * 2002,, The Fiery Cross, p. 29:
 * We meant to sail from Charleston, but things went agley there, and so we’re bound for Portsmouth now, as fast as we can make speed.
 * 1) * 2002,, The Fiery Cross, p. 29:
 * We meant to sail from Charleston, but things went agley there, and so we’re bound for Portsmouth now, as fast as we can make speed.

Usage notes
The word was popularised by in his 1785 Scots poems “”, in the much-quoted line “The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft agley”. This line is often quoted, and agley is occasionally used in modern English, primarily in variants of this line, such as “our plans have gone agley” or “things went agley”.

Adjective

 * 1)  Wrong; askew.