finagle
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
Americanism from the 1920s, perhaps combining an alteration of fainaigue (“to renege”) with the suffix + -le (“frequentive”);[1] compare haggle.
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Verb
finagle (third-person singular simple present finagles, present participle finagling, simple past and past participle finagled)
- (transitive) To obtain, arrange, or achieve by indirect and usually deceitful methods.
- ...finagle a day off from work.
- (ambitransitive) To cheat or swindle; to use crafty, deceitful methods. (often with "out of" preceding the object)
- ...shady stockbrokers who finagle their clients out of fortunes.
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] Translations
(transitive) to obtain or achieve by indirect and usually deceitful methods
(ambitransitive) to cheat or swindle; to use crafty, deceitful methods (often with "out of")
[edit] References
- finagle, The Word Detective, February 12th, 2008
