canny

Meaning

Adj

1. Careful, prudent, cautious.
2. Knowing, shrewd, astute.
3. Frugal, thrifty.
4. (Northumbria, Scotland) Friendly, pleasant, fair, agreeable; (sometimes) funny.
5. (Northumbria, Scotland) Gentle, quiet, steady.
6. (Northumbria, Scotland) pretty, quite, very.

Adv

1. (Northumbria, not-comparable) Very, considerably; quite, rather.
2. (Northumbria, Scotland, not-comparable) Gently, quietly; carefully, skilfully.

Synonyms

shrewd

astute

sharp

cunning

cagey

sly

cautious

skillful

tricky

foxy

crafty

artful

wily

calculating

dodgy

shifty

clever

nimble

cagy

chary

parlous

bright

intelligent

smart

chary of

ingenious

keen

knowing

mindful

neat

noncommittal

observing

offish

painstaking

politic

proficient

prudent

qualified

quiet

regardful

reserved

restrained

sharp-witted

skilled

snug

sparing

spiffy

subtile

subtle

tactful

Translations

schlau

pffifig

abgefeimt

hinterlistig

kurnaz

schlaukopf

gerissen

arglistig

gewiegt

gewitzt

listig

findig

gewieft

hilebaz

astucieux

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈkæni/

Etymology

Cognate with Scots: canny

Cognate with Old English: cann

In summary

Northern English dialect, from can (“to know”) ( + -y), from Middle English can, first and third person singular of cunnen, connen (“to be able, know how to”), from Old English cunnan (“to know how to, be able to”). Compare Scots canny, English cunny, Old English cann (“knowledge, assertion”). More at can, cunning.