crafty

adj

Etymology: From Middle English crafty, crefty, craftiȝ, from Old English cræftiġ (“ingenious; skilful; crafty; cunning; virtuous; powerful”), from Proto-West Germanic *kraftag, *kraftīg, *kraftug, from Proto-Germanic *kraftugaz (“powerful”), equivalent to craft + -y. Cognate with Saterland Frisian kräftich, krääftig, West Frisian krêftich, Dutch krachtig, German Low German krachtig, German kräftig.

1. Skillful at deceiving others.

   “For thy mouth uttereth thine iniquity, and thou choosest the tongue of the crafty.”

   “Glaucon will play devil's advocate (358c-d, thereby showing himself craftier than Thrasymachus, who is so unsly as to declare himself a wolf, openly, before the sheep; […])”

2. Sneaky; surreptitious.

   “I took a crafty look at his hand of cards while he was out of the room.”

3. Relating to, or characterized by, craft or skill; dexterous.
4. Possessing dexterity; skilled; skillful.

   “Make magazine, which celebrates “your right to tweak, hack and bend any technology to your own will,” has joined with the New York Hall of Science to gather more than 500 of the craftiest inventors, artists, technology enthusiasts, tinkerers and hobbyists to share their expertise.”

   “Can you envision a future Christmas where you print all your gifts instead of shop for them? It could soon be reality in even the most tech-averse household, and it might just end up saving the craftier among us lots of time and money. Why buy a $50 vase when you can print one for $2?”

5. Magical or occult, or allegedly so.

   “a crafty science”