Canny

careful; cautious; prudent:
a canny reply.
astute; shrewd; knowing; sagacious:
a canny negotiator.
skilled; expert.
frugal; thrifty:
a canny housewife.
Scot.

safe to deal with, invest in, or work at (usually used with a negative).
gentle; careful; steady.
snug; cozy; comfortable.
pleasing; attractive.
Archaic. having supernatural or occult powers.

in a canny manner.
Scot. carefully; cautiously.
Contemporary Examples

Fergie’s Latest Flameout Tina Brown May 24, 2010
What to Watch Tonight Benjamin Sarlin November 1, 2010
Publishing’s Founding Father Joshua Kendall June 30, 2011
Who Will Watch “The Gatekeepers”? Raphael Magarik January 9, 2013
Geoff Dyer at Sea: Unmoored but on Target Melissa Holbrook Pierson May 20, 2014

Historical Examples

Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, Vol. 1. No 1, June 1850 Various
They of the High Trails Hamlin Garland
The Cloister and the Hearth Charles Reade
Greyfriars Bobby Eleanor Atkinson
Fly Fishing in Wonderland Klahowya

adjective -nier, -niest
shrewd, esp in business; astute or wary; knowing
(Scot & Northeast English, dialect) good or nice: used as a general term of approval
(Scot) lucky or fortunate
adverb
(Scot & Northeast English, dialect) quite; rather: a canny long while
adj.

The Canny Scot is so well known as scarcely to require description. He carries caution, cunning, and selfishness to excess. Deceitful when a purpose is to be accomplished, he is not habitually deceitful. One thing he never loses sight of–his own interest. But of his own interest he is not the most enlightened judge. [“The Natural History of Scotsmen,” in “The Argosy,” December 1865]

Related: Cannily; canniness.