finagling
Sneaky deal making
Finagling is the act of obtaining something through cunning, trickery, or indirect methods—often bending rules without quite breaking them.
The word carries a sense of cleverness tinged with dishonesty: After some finagling, she got us into the sold-out show.
Someone finagling their way into a job might exaggerate credentials or exploit connections rather than earn the position outright.
Deliberate deception or fraud
- schemingCrafty and calculating
- chicaneryDeception through clever manipulation
- subterfugeDeliberate deception to conceal
- wranglingLengthy, contentious disputing
wangling · swindling · conniving · deceiving · hoodwinking · bamboozling · double-dealing · fast-talking
Persuading through flattery
- coaxingPersuading through gentle persistence
- wheedlingPersuading through flattery
- sweet-talkingPersuading through flattery
- smooth-talkingCharmingly persuasive in speech
arm-twisting · wrangling · negotiating · haggling · convincing · buttering up · flattery · charm
Ropes controlling ship sails
- fixingRestoring proper function
- fudgingManipulating facts dishonestly
- doctoringAltering deceptively
- massagingTherapeutic manual manipulation
cooking the books · tampering · juggling · gerrymandering · gaming · bending the rules · pulling strings · wangling
Clever, original thinking
- resourcefulnessAbility to solve problems creatively
- shrewdnessKeen practical judgment
- cunningSly, scheming cleverness
- savvyPractical shrewdness
wiliness · craftiness · astuteness · quick-thinking · street smarts · slickness · guile · artfulness
trickery
Deliberate deception or fraud
- schemingCrafty and calculating
- chicaneryDeception through clever manipulation
- subterfugeDeliberate deception to conceal
wrangling · wangling · swindling · conniving · deceiving · hoodwinking · bamboozling · double-dealing · fast-talking · slyness
cajoling
Persuading through flattery
- coaxingPersuading through gentle persistence
- wheedlingPersuading through flattery
- sweet-talkingPersuading through flattery
smooth-talking · arm-twisting · wrangling · negotiating · haggling · convincing · buttering up · flattery · charm · schmoozing
rigging
Ropes controlling ship sails
massaging · cooking the books · tampering · juggling · gerrymandering · gaming · bending the rules · pulling strings · wangling
ingenuity
Clever, original thinking
- resourcefulnessAbility to solve problems creatively
- shrewdnessKeen practical judgment
- cunningSly, scheming cleverness
savvy · wiliness · craftiness · astuteness · quick-thinking · street smarts · slickness · guile · artfulness · foxiness
- bending rulesloopholes, skirting, exploits, workarounds, cutting corners
- acquiringobtaining, getting, grabbing, seizing, taking
- interferenceinterfering, meddling, intruding, butting in, obstructing
- mischiefmischief, hijinks, antics, pranks, antic
- maneuveringmaneuvering, positioning, steering, repositioning, pivoting
- influence peddlinginfluence peddling, backscratching, quid pro quo, kickbacks, payoffs
finaglinghonesty
Truthfulness, sincerity
forthrightness · candor · directness · transparency · plain dealing