wangle

American  

[wang-guhl] / ˈwæŋ gəl /

verb (used with object)

wangled, wangling

1. to bring about, accomplish, or obtain by scheming or underhand methods.

   to wangle an invitation.

   Synonyms:

   wheedle, engineer, finagle, maneuver

2. to falsify or manipulate for dishonest ends.

   to wangle business records.

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verb (used without object)

wangled, wangling

1. to use contrivance, scheming, or underhand methods to obtain some goal or result.

2. to manipulate something for dishonest ends.

noun

1. an act or instance of wangling.

wangle British  

/ ˈwæŋɡəl /

verb

1. (tr) to use devious or illicit methods to get or achieve (something) for (oneself or another)

   he wangled himself a salary increase

2. to manipulate or falsify (a situation, action, etc)

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noun

1. the act or an instance of wangling

Other Word Forms

• wangler noun

Etymology

Origin of wangle

1810–20; blend of wag (the tongue) and dangle (about someone, i.e., hang around someone, court someone's favor)

Example Sentences

Technically, she wasn’t old enough to work with the horses at the track, but Crump wangled her way in.

From The Wall Street Journal

Then, the Yankees wangled and wooed it away from the Spanish and Mexicans.

From Los Angeles Times

Two years before, Caligiuri had wangled an invitation to an exclusive party thrown for George Michael in the Hollywood hills.

From BBC

Clearly, the few evolutionary changes the domestic cat has made have been the right ones to wangle their way into people's hearts and homes.

From Salon

When the Spanish-American War erupted, Otis wangled a brigadier general appointment from now-commander in chief McKinley, and returned from the Philippines as a major general.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• wriggle