A crafty or shrewd person; someone who is canny or clever, particularly in Scottish or Northern English dialect.
Variant spelling or dialectal form of 'canny' (from Scottish/Northern English, possibly from Old Norse kunnig meaning knowing or skillful). The spelling 'cawney' represents regional pronunciation patterns.
This word captures the Scottish genius for understatement—a 'cawney' person isn't just smart; they're smart in a careful, suspicious, nobody-pulling-the-wool-over-their-eyes kind of way.
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