canny

But the debate between the Iraqi leader and the CIA analyst—the former arrogant, canny and pragmatic; the latter cautious, politic but unyielding—makes for an exciting primer on the recent history of the region.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

But the pair are just the latest in the long line of hustlers, fraudsters and canny opportunists who have been working to undermine science in this country for more than a century.

From Salon ● Aug. 13, 2026

Shorn of the suspended Ramsey and Davies, Wales were stifled by their canny opponents, who secured a 2-0 win with second-half goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

"His reaction, for someone who's normally pretty canny when it comes to the media, is extraordinarily counterproductive," said Bale.

From Barron's ● Jul. 6, 2026

But he was also canny enough to know when to let up on the crew, when to flatter them, when to implore them, when to joke around with them.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

How do they take a cannier approach to prevent Max Verstappen swooping in and stealing the championship from under their nose?

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2025

But that film was a cannier bid for next-level success, offsetting its three-act corniness with emotional stakes that led to a crescendo of its genius headliner’s performance prowess.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 16, 2025

If Adams were cannier and less damaged, he could find a comfortable way to win.

From Slate ● Sep. 12, 2024

While voters throughout the country were glued to their TVs and reflexively refreshing news and political sites on Tuesday night, a few of the cannier ones were paying more attention to something else.

From New York Times ● Nov. 4, 2020

A cannier soul would have made the money go a long way.

From Fifth Avenue by Arthur Bartlett Maurice

Lord Wolfson is widely considered to be one of the canniest brains in UK business, and while he conceded next year would be tough, there were reasons for optimism.

From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2022

Simon Russell Beale, to my mind the canniest wielder of dramatic poetry in the English language, was honored for his mesmerizing lead performance.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 13, 2022

One of the canniest aspects of The Glass Hotel is Mandel’s depiction of how people rationalize the ways they have harmed others.

From Slate ● Mar. 24, 2020

To the south of France’s canniest festival of cinema, then, where a buffet of Mel Gibson movies is being shopped to apparently voracious buyers.

From The Guardian ● May 16, 2019

The moral which fits the bill here, I think, is survival of the canniest.

From Behind the News: Voices from Goa's Press by Various