shifty

adjective, shift·i·er, shift·i·est.

1. resourceful; fertile in expedients.
2. given to or full of evasions; tricky.
3. suggesting a deceptive or evasive character: a shifty look.

adjective shiftier or shiftiest

1. given to evasions; artful
2. furtive in character or appearance
3. full of expedients; resourceful

adj.1560s, “able to manage for oneself, fertile in expedients,” from shift (n.1) in secondary sense of “dodge, trick, artifice” + -y (2). Meaning “habitually using dishonest methods, characterized by trickery” first recorded 1837. In a sense “prone to shifting,” of the wind, used from 1884. Related: Shiftily; shiftiness.