pawky

[ paw-kee ]

/ ˈpɔ ki /

cunning; sly.

Origin of pawky

1670–80; Scots pawk trick + -y¹

pawk·i·ly, adverb pawk·i·ness, noun

pavo, pavonine, pavor nocturnus, pavé, paw, pawky, pawl, pawn, pawn off, pawn ticket, pawnage

His bon hommie is unique; he has a rich, pawky humour, which with his own countrymen is almost worshipped.

Western Worthies |J. Stephen Jeans
The operatic villain shook his locks, his eyes full of pawky cunning.

The Big Bow Mystery |I. Zangwill
One of my pawky friends once gave me a book called "Fishin' Jimmy."

Papers and Proceedings of the Thirty-fourth Annual Meeting of the American Library Association Held at Ottawa, Canada June 26-July 2, 1912 |Various
What a lot of quiet fun and pawky jokes there would be passing round.

Playing With Fire |Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr

Not that I know what pawky means, but it seems a word I ought to use at once, now we are on Scottish soil.

The Heather-Moon |C. N. Williamson and A. M. Williamson

pawky

/ (ˈpɔːkɪ) /

Scot having or characterized by a dry wit

pawkily, adverb pawkiness, noun

C17: from Scottish pawk trick, of unknown origin