- Today's Word
Wangle
[WANG-guhl]
Definition
- (verb) To obtain something through clever, often devious means. It implies manipulating a situation or persuading someone in a crafty or ingenious way to achieve a desired outcome.
Example
Despite the “sold out” sign, Sarah managed to wangle two tickets to the concert by convincing the box office manager that she was a music critic.
Fun Fact
The origin of “wangle” is uncertain, but it first appeared in British slang in the early 20th century. Some linguists speculate it might be related to the Old English word “wancol,” meaning unstable or unsteady. Others suggest it could be connected to the verb “waggle,” implying a sort of back-and-forth movement that could metaphorically represent manipulation. The term gained popularity during World War I, often used by soldiers to describe obtaining something through unofficial channels. Today, while it can imply a degree of deviousness, “wangle” is often used more lightheartedly to describe clever problem-solving or resourcefulness.
(noun/verb) A gentle, continuous murmuring sound made by water or a person speaking rapidly and excitedly.
The hikers followed the burble of the stream through the dense forest long before they could see it, the sound guiding them toward water and rest.
Burble is an example of onomatopoeia — a word whose sound imitates the thing it describes. It emerged in Middle English as an imitative word for the sound of bubbling or gurgling water, related to the Old French borboiller, meaning “to bubble.” Lewis Carroll famously used it in Jabberwocky — “the Jabberwock, with eyes of flame, came whiffling through the tulgey wood, and burbled as it came” — cementing its place in the English literary imagination as a word that sounds exactly like what it means.