Discussion Groups / British English / December 2006

hi.can anyone tell me what "low cunning" means.it appears from the
contexts in which i have heard this phrase that its meaning isnt really
derivative from the meanings of low or cunning but that it is a noun
phrase meaning something logically simple i.e even though it is
syntactically two words it is really just one word.
to be precise,a particular example of the use of this word in the
following in a book about clear english writing.
in that book,a piece of correspondence is commented upon.
the piece of correspondence is this.

"bill and i are fed to the teeth with the way you keep trying to force
us into sending our kids into sending our kids,not yours-to a private
school when that is completely against our principles.
opening a fund for the fees without asking us first was bad enough.
Constantly telling the kids how lovely it was going to be was even
worse.
Now you have had the audacity to put their names down for,in one case
eton, and in the other case,roedean.yuk!
this nonsense has got to stop.until we have had your solemn written
promise to leave the education of our children t us,their parents,you
will not see either of them again.
and don't bother contacting your precious son,either,because he agrees
with me!"

the comments are these.
"well,that certainly told granny,did'nt it?you could scarcely be
accused of lack of clarity,conciseness and directness.or that valuable
attribute,low cunning."

from the pointed use of low cunning above,it seems indicated that the
meaning of "low cunning" is both logically simple and specific.in
fact,one even gets the impression that it is a well-worn word.
sadly,i have not been able to discover its meaning in
dictionaries,including the two volume shorter oxford english
dictionary.
should someone respond to this,would you be kind enough to tell me
exactly what this word means.that is to say,give me illustrative
examples of low cunning,explain how the above qualifies as an instance
of low cunning and also if necesary tell me what low cunning
is'nt,i.e.eplain the limits of the word's meaning
expand your description of the word into a paragraph with illustrations
etc instead of the pedantic,technical,  cryptically brief descriptions
they give in dictionaries.
begging your indulgence

                                yours

                         radheshyam