An alternative spelling of cawney; a cunning or clever person, especially in Scottish dialect.
Another variant of 'canny,' with 'cawnie' being a dialectal spelling used in Scottish English. The -ie suffix is common in Scottish diminutives and informal terms.
Scots have dozens of ways to describe clever people—'cawnie,' 'canny,' 'pawky'—because they've always valued people who can outwit the harsh weather and trickier neighbors.
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