wheel and deal

Idioms  

1. Operate or manipulate for one's own interest, especially in an aggressive or unscrupulous way. For example, Bernie's wheeling and dealing has made him rich but not very popular. This term comes from gambling in the American West, where a wheeler-dealer was a heavy bettor on the roulette wheel and at cards. [Colloquial; c. 1940]

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Example Sentences

This was the new “New York”; not just as far as the series was concerned, but in terms of the figures who wheel and deal within the city itself.

From Salon • Feb. 12, 2025

Their ruthless hucksters wheel and deal like David Mamet’s salesmen in “Glengarry Glen Ross,” but wear more expensive suits.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 31, 2017

Music bigwigs wheel and deal at restaurants facing a festival theater built into the side of a mountain.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 4, 2017

Fadzai’s brother, Gilbert, is a charismatic intellectual from the countryside hoping to wheel and deal his way through the big city, placing more stock in philosophy than in the hard-bitten lessons of his country’s history.

From Washington Post • Jul. 11, 2016

‘So let’s wheel and deal, Music Man,’ Leo said.

From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan