Definition

Noun: A person who uses clever, dishonest, or deceptive methods to achieve a goal, especially by manipulating situations or people.

Usage

The word "finagler" describes a person whose characteristic behavior is to obtain something through trickery, cunning, or deceitful persuasion. It implies a shrewd and often unscrupulous operator.

Examples

• The salesman was a known finagler who could talk anyone into a bad deal.
• She suspected her colleague was a finagler after he took credit for her idea.
• The contract was full of loopholes, perfect for a clever finagler to exploit.

Advanced Usage

• "A consummate finagler": This phrase emphasizes that the person is a complete, expert, or supreme master of deceitful manipulation.
  • He was a consummate finagler, always emerging from complex negotiations with the upper hand.

Variants and Related Words

• Finagle (verb): To obtain something by cleverness, trickery, or manipulation.
  • He managed to finagle an invitation to the exclusive party.
• Finagling (noun/gerund): The act or practice of using deceptive methods.
  • The deal was the result of weeks of political finagling.

Synonyms

• Schemer: A person who makes secret and often complex plans to achieve a goal, typically a dishonest one.
• Wheeler-dealer: A person who is skillful and shrewd in business or political negotiations, sometimes unscrupulously.
• Operator (informal): A person who acts in a shrewd, manipulative, or deceptive way.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• "To finagle one's way into/out of something": This common verb phrase describes the specific act of manipulating a situation.
  • She finagled her way into the backstage area. (She used clever or deceitful talk to get backstage.)
  • He always finds a way to finagle out of doing the chores. (He manipulates the situation to avoid chores.)

Noun

1. a deceiver who uses crafty misleading methods