wheeler-dealer

American  

[hwee-ler-dee-ler, wee-] / ˈʰwi lərˈdi lər, ˈwi- /

Sometimes wheeler and dealer

noun

Informal.

1. a person who wheels and deals.

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wheeler-dealer British  

noun

1. informal a person who wheels and deals

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Etymology

Origin of wheeler-dealer

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

"I'm portrayed as a godfather, even though I don't even own a business on Corsica. As former head of a nationalist movement for 15 years I wasn't exactly a saint. But to depict me as a dangerous wheeler-dealer? That's a joke."

From BBC

Far from the high-flying, deep-pocketed wheeler-dealer he was portrayed to be, Halem, a father of two, was now broke, his lawyer said.

From Los Angeles Times

McCartney was dubious about the man the New York Times called "the toughest wheeler-dealer in the pop jungle" and man who had said: "Don't talk to me about ethics. Every man makes his own. It's like a war."

From BBC

First up, the call between the prime minister and the president-elect, seeking, in Downing Street’s description of it, to describe a tone of warmth, even bonhomie between the socialist former human rights lawyer and the billionaire wheeler-dealer New Yorker.

From BBC

Most of us will likely agree that if you are making $18 or $22 or $25 per hour, you are not a wheeler-dealer in the corner suite, and you should have a right to overtime coverage without having to prove exactly how not-managerial you are.

From Slate