askant

adv

1. (archaic)Aslant; to one side, askance.

   “And I saw askant the armies, / I saw as in noiseless dreams hundreds of battle-flags, / Borne through the smoke of the battles and pierc’d with missiles I saw them, / And carried hither and yon through the smoke, and torn and bloody, / And at last but a few shreds left on the staffs, (and all in silence,) / And the staffs all splinter’d and broken.”

   “He folded the bill lovingly and tucked it away; but he flipped the coin from his thumb, spinning in the sun, caught it as it fell, and glanced askant at old Pete.”

adj

1. (archaic)Aslant, sloping.

   “While appearing to listen to Adelaide, her eyes wandered over me with speculation askant in them.”

   “A small, askant, almost contemptuous smile was on her mouth as she chewed.”

verb

1. (alt-of, dated)Dated form of askance.