finagle

fi·na·gle

transitive verb

-·gled, -·gling

Informal to get, arrange, or maneuver by cleverness, persuasion, etc., or esp. by craftiness, trickery, etc.

Origin of finagle

from uncertain or unknown; perhaps

to use craftiness, trickery, etc.

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MLA Style

"finagle." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/finagle>.

APA Style

finagle. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/finagle

finagle

verb

fi·na·gled, fi·na·gling, fi·na·gles

verb

transitive

To obtain or achieve by cleverness or deceit, especially in persuading someone: finagle a day off from work; finagled a reservation at the popular restaurant.
To cheat; swindle: shady stockbrokers who finagle their clients out of fortunes.

verb

intransitive

To use clever or deceitful means to obtain or achieve something.

Origin of finagle

Probably from dialectal fainaigue to cheat

Related Forms:

fi·na′gler
noun

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"finagle." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/finagle>.

APA Style

finagle. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/finagle

Verb

(third-person singular simple present finagles, present participle finagling, simple past and past participle finagled)

To obtain, arrange, or achieve by indirect and usually deceitful methods.
...finagle a day off from work.
(intransitive) 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.