Green’s Dictionary of Slang

clumsy, awkward.

c.1698		B.E. Dict. Canting Crew n.p.: Caw-Handed awkward, not dextrous, ready or nimble.
1725		New Canting Dict.
1737, 1759, 1760, 1776		Bailey Universal Etym. Eng. Dict.
c.1750–1882		B.M. Carew Life and Adventures.
1785, 1788, 1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1811		Lex. Balatronicum.
1823		Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.