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pawky

/ˈpɔki/
IPA guide

Other forms: pawkily

If you're known as being pawky, you've got a sly, mischievous sense of humor. The pawky one in your group of friends is probably good at making everyone laugh while barely cracking a smile.

You're most likely to encounter the word pawky in Scotland, but it's a good way to describe someone who's got a sardonic wit, wherever you happen to be. You might surprise people with your pawky wit if you're usually quiet and retiring. Pawky is Scots, and it's also used in Northern England, from the Northern English pawk, or "trick."

Definitions of pawky
  1. adjective
    cunning and sly
    “"the pawky rich old lady who incessantly scores off her parasitical descendants"- Punch”
    synonyms:
    artful
    marked by skill in achieving a desired end especially with cunning or craft
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