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# canny

adjective (canny, cannier, canniest); adverb (cannily)

«canny» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Canny means clever and careful, especially with money or in business; hard to trick: «a canny shopper». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/canny/#m1)
2. (North-East England, Scotland, informal) Canny means nice, good or pretty: «a canny lass», «it's canny cold». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/canny/#m2)
3. (Scotland) «Ca' canny» means be careful, go gently. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/canny/#m3)

### In the lessons

In stories a canny character is shrewd, sensible and quick to spot a trick. In Newcastle and around (Geordie speech), «canny» is an everyday word of praise, and also means «quite»: «canny good» = quite good. Phrases: «a canny move», «canny with money», «canny good» (Geordie).

### Examples

- The canny fox did not fall into the trap. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/canny/#x1)
- Gran is canny with money and always finds a bargain. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/canny/#x2)
- That was a canny move, swapping your queen for two rooks! [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/canny/#x3)
- «He's a canny lad,» said the man from Newcastle, meaning a nice boy. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/canny/#x4)
- It's canny windy today! (Geordie) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/canny/#x5)
- The canny shopkeeper raised his prices before the holiday. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/canny/#x6)

### Note

Comparative «cannier», superlative «canniest». Opposite: «uncanny» actually means strange and spooky, not «not clever»: an uncanny likeness = a strangely close likeness. Regional senses are informal.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «canny» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/canny/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«canny» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/canny.html) on Mova free.