cunning

[Ju]

1. Tim was so cunny and deceived all money from Jan.

2. Government was so cunny in cutting down the manpower so as to reserve the money for the future plan for
Government.

Which one of the above sentence is correct?

Thank you.

 

[Rover_KE]

What makes you think one of them is correct?

They are both ungrammatical, even if you changed the adjective to cunning.

Rover

 

[Tdol]

And cunny has a very rude, albeit archaic, meaning. (Warning taboo language in the link)

 

[Rover_KE]

And cunny has a very rude, albeit archaic, meaning. (Warning taboo language in the link)

I wasn't going to mention that.

Ju had that word as the thread title—that's why I changed it.

Rover

 

[Ju]

I wasn't going to mention that.

Ju had that word as the thread title—that's why I changed it.

Rover

Any suggestion to write it correctly, please?
Thank you.

 

[Rover_KE]

1. Tim was cunning enough to cheat Jan out of all her money.

2. The government cunningly cut down the workforce to save money for its future plans.

Rover

 

[5jj]

Perhaps 'canny' was intended.

 

[BobK]

And cunny has a very rude, albeit archaic, meaning. (Warning taboo language in the link)

Victorian* nannies, to avoid the risks inherent in the Latin cuniculus (Sp conejo, 'rabbit'), made sure that their charges called them 'bunny rabbits'. But the C is preserved in the word used for rabbit fur - 'coney' (/kǝʊni:/, unlike 'honey' and 'money').

b
*I'd have to do some research to check whether this is an anachronism. Could be Edwardian, or earlier.

 

[Tdol]

I had no idea where bunny came from- fascinating. :-D

 

[BobK]

Perhaps 'canny' was intended.

But beware, Ju. Although canny and cunning are related etymologically, and overlap in meaning, they have different overtones. A supporter would talk about a 'canny government', making the right decisions. But someone who didn't approve of those decisions might talk about a 'cunniing government'.

b

 

[bhaisahab]

Piece of useless information: "cony" is from the Irish word for rabbit "coinín", pronounced "coneen".

 

[david11]

2. Government was so cunning in cutting down the manpower so as to reserve the money for the future plan for
Government.

Why is it incorrect when we use cunning here?

I was so cautious in doing that work.

Isn't the above example similar to the earlier one? Is the above example also wrong?

 

[BobK]

2. Government was so cunning in cutting down the manpower so as to reserve the money for the future plan for
Government.I don't know what it means. The first 'so' makes the whole sentence incomplete; 'so cunning ... that what? And I think you probably meant 'for their future plans'. But 'cunning' would fit there, in a sentence that did not have these other problems.

Why is it incorrect when we use cunning here?

I was so cautious in doing that work.

Isn't the above example similar to the earlier one? Is the above example also wrong?

The second example is wrong for the same reason: so cautious.... that what? There's nothing wrong with "I was cautious in doing that work" apart from its sounding terribly stilted. The natural way to express it would be 'I did that job cautiously'.

(
Be careful with job and work. Here are some examples:

That work is boring. I'll never to do that sort of job again. (General)
That job is pointless/The job was difficult. (Specific)

It's often true that 'job' is countable and 'work' isn't, but not always.
)

b

 

[Barb_D]

I know we're drifting away from the main point here, but the usage of "so" as in "I was so careful when I did that" is pretty common in the US.

I was so tired when I got home last night. (You don't need a "that I slept 12 hours" or anything else.)
I can't believe it went out with a typo. I was so careful when I wrote it. (If this were me, I know you all would believe it without trouble.)
She was so mean to me!

This "so" means more than "very" - it implies more than usual or more than expected.

 

[BobK]

Yes, the that-less 'so' is becoming more popular here too. I just thought that the 'so cautious' sentence sounded odd in a way that could have been attenuated (though not cured) by the addition of a 'that...'.

b