ˈshiftē, -ti adjective
( usually -er/-est )
1. : full of expedients : capable of meeting situations : resourceful
the exigencies of a new country made them quick-witted and shifty — Edward Eggleston
2.
a. : given to deception, evasion, or fraud : slippery , tricky
the shifty little men whose craftiness for once would fail them — A.P.Davies
b. : capable of evasive movement : elusive
a small, shifty back who's tough to nail with a low tackle — Eugene Hopper
3. : indicative or characteristic of a deceitful or untrustworthy person : furtive
the shifty eyes above the lying mouth would peer and probe — G.D.Brown
4. : not fixed : changeable , unstable
grammatical phenomena are extremely numerous, extremely varied, and bafflingly shifty — Charlton Laird
5. : shifting or tending to shift in position or direction
if the shifty election-year winds should blow the nomination into his lap — Newsweek