canniness

On balance, this canniness is an asset in a President.

Discourse.net: VOTE! (Preferably for Obama) 2008

The proverbial "canniness" of the Scottish nation was all upon the one side; the equally proverbial _perfervidum ingenium_ was all upon the other.

Chronicles of Strathearn John Hunter 1883

However exciting it may be for a time, parties soon tire of carrying on a losing game for the mere sake of abusing each other, and Æneas M'Quirter not being behind the generality of his countrymen in 'canniness' and shrewdness of intellect, came to the conclusion that it was no use doing so in this case, especially as the few remaining friends who still applauded would be very sorry to subscribe anything towards his losses.

Mr. Sponge's Sporting Tour Robert Smith Surtees 1833

The Ipswich manager still has £6m unspent from the proceeds of selling Connor Wickham which, if invested with the same canniness he displayed at Wigan rather than his disastrous forays in the market at Derby, would make them credible promotion candidates.

Championship: McClaren and Eriksson lead the upwardly mobile set | Rob Bagchi 2011

The fact that every club Harry has ever been in charge of – Bournemouth, West Ham, Southampton, Pompey – has stumbled into a financial quagmire after he left is actually the surest indication there could possibly be of the canniness of his stewardship.

For Steve Claridge, setting the team upright is a vertical challenge 2012

If the plot of The Killer Inside Me seems flimsy -- even arbitrary and contrived -- well, that's an element of Thompson's stories: a fervid, almost feverish quality, a helplessness to deal with bad impulses and a quick canniness for covering one's tracks.

Marshall Fine: HuffPost Review: The Killer Inside Me Marshall Fine 2010

Piaf gave these behind-the-scenes glimpses with a canniness that could put a Washington spin-doctor to shame —­­and that she didn't bother to hide: "People know only what I want them to," she once told a roomful of reporters.

The Sound of France Mark Polizzotti 2011

These positions were hardening just as Wilson was getting his practical plans for his beloved League into focus, and the canniness of the other major players caught him in a trap.

How Wars end Gideon Rose 2010

And similar admiration for wily politicians who can bend and break election laws with brass and canniness -- even begrudging from the opposition -- is yet another proud Texas tradition.

Rob Patterson: Let's Thank Ronnie Earle for Tom DeLay's Conviction Rob Patterson 2010

If the plot of The Killer Inside Me seems flimsy -- even arbitrary and contrived -- well, that's an element of Thompson's stories: a fervid, almost feverish quality, a helplessness to deal with bad impulses and a quick canniness for covering one's tracks.

Marshall Fine: HuffPost Review: The Killer Inside Me Marshall Fine 2010