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Worse cases: For dangerous results from opposite meanings for the same word, see oversight. |
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| canny
adj. 1. Having
or showing knowledge and skill in applying it; fully
competent. {Not to
be confused with clever, which is not always an
attractive quality.}
2. Assiduous in the safekeeping and advancement of one’s
interests {Selfish,
approaching cynical.}; shrewd. 3.
Attentive to all factors
and considerations; prudent. {In the extreme, risk-averse.}
4.
Susceptible of human understanding; explicable; natural.
{Possibly unnatural,
as in sophisticated.}
5a.
Pleasant, attractive. 5b Gentle; mild; steady. [From can
(to
know how, to be able) {Therefore opposite to can't-y}.]
-- The American
Heritage Dictionary of
the English Language
{with author’s comments added in braces} "Which reminds me: Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority made an exceptionally clever decision not to provide public restrooms. Uncanny!" -- Paul Niquette in
solution to Groaner
of
the Third Kind
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Worse cases: For dangerous results from opposite meanings for the same word, see oversight. |
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The
meanings for canny span all the way from competent
(sense
1) through shrewd and prudent (senses
2 and 3) to the gentle
realms owned by words like attractive and steady
(sense 5).
Uncanny bumps into canny, not as an
opposite (incompetent,
for example) but at an oblique angle, with the meaning
of keen and
perceptive -- so much so as to seem preternatural,
taking
the usage of uncanny into unearthly
territories occupied
by eerie and weird.