larcenous vs underhanded

larcenous

adj
  • Given to larceny, tending to thievery. 

  • Resembling theft, often applied to legal actions that seem unfair. 

underhanded

adj
  • Sly, dishonest, corrupt, cheating. 

  • Done by moving the hand (and arm) from below. 

  • Insincere; sarcastic. 

  • An underhanded compliment is actually criticism. 

  • Secret; surreptitious. 

  • His underhanded trick backfired and he was disqualified. 

  • Understaffed. 

noun
  • Devious people, collectively. 

adv
  • In an underhanded manner. 

How often have the words larcenous and underhanded occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )