Nearby Words

finagle

[fi-ney-guhl] Example Sentences Origin

fi·na·gle

[fi-ney-guhl] verb, -gled, -gling.
verb (used with object)
1.
to trick, swindle, or cheat (a person) (often followed by out of): He finagled the backers out of a fortune.
2.
to get or achieve (something) by guile, trickery, or manipulation: to finagle an assignment to the Membership Committee.
verb (used without object)
3.
to practice deception or fraud; scheme.

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Finagle is one of our favorite verbs.
So is peculate. Does it mean:
to bark; yelp.
to steal or take dishonestly (money, esp. public funds, or property entrusted to one's care); embezzle.
Also, fenagle.


Origin:
1925–30, Americanism; finaig- (variant of fainaigue) + -le

fi·na·gler, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To finagle
Example Sentences
  • It gives owners and general managers a legal excuse not to finagle.
  • So, adjuncts might consider trying to finagle the perks in this category from outside sources.
  • Finagle the laws to get oneself elected permanently.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
finagle (fɪˈneɪɡəl)
 
vb
1.  (tr) to get or achieve by trickery, craftiness, or persuasion; wangle
2.  to use trickery or craftiness on (a person)
 
[C20: probably changed from dialect fainaigue]
 
fi'nagler
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

finagle
1926, Amer.Eng., possibly a variant of English dial. fuinaigue "to cheat or renege" (at cards), of unknown origin. Related: Finagled; finagling.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary

finagle definition

[fɪˈneglæ] and [fəˈnɪglæ]
and fanigle
  1. in.
    to plot and plan; to conspire; to arrange (something). : He's pretty good at finagling.
  2. tv.
    to acquire something through conniving. : Can I finagle a buck from you?
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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