▪ I. wriggle, n.
(ˈrɪg(ə)l)
Also 8–9 riggle, 9 wreckle.
[f. next. Cf. LG. wriggel wilfulness.]
† 1. A piece of sophistry; a shift. Obs.—1
| 1675 Tullie Let. Baxter 14 To think such little wriggles and Evasions will pass for rational Discourse. |
2. A quick writhing movement or flexion of the body, etc. Also
fig.| 1709 Steele Tatler No. 85 ¶5 They have always a peculiar Spring in their Arms, a Riggle in their Bodies. 1768–74 Tucker Lt. Nat. (1834) I. 481 Such length as they [sc. animalcules] can throw themselves forward by one wriggle of the tail. 1829 Loudon's Mag. Nat. Hist. II. 220 [The water-shrew] swims very rapidly;..his very nimble wriggle is clearly discernible. 1862 Trollope N. Amer. I. 37 Fishes..assist..their motion with no dorsal riggle. 1899 J. Vincent 1st Bp. Bath & Wells 11 To kill a story that has..got into print, and to leave it dead, and without a wriggle. |
| transf. 1899 A. Lang in Contemp. Rev. March 403 There the line gives a wriggle, suggesting that the circle was evolved out of a spiral. |
b. A sinuous or tortuous formation, marking, etc.; a wriggling or meandering course.
| 1825 Jennings Obs. Dial. W. Eng. 84 Wriggle, any narrow sinuous hole. 1833 T. Hook Parson's Dau. i. i, The serpentine walks were mere wriggles. 1881 Ruskin Bible Amiens ii. §24 A few careful pen-strokes, or wriggles, of your own off-hand writing. 1899 [see wriggled ppl. a.]. |
c. A turn or sinuosity.
rare—1.
| 1853 Hawthorne Tanglewood T., Minotaur, At every new zigzag and wriggle of the path. |
3. local. The sand-eel or sand-launce.
| 1816 [see wreckle]. 1876 T. Hardy Ethelberta xxxiii, We dug wriggles out of the sand. 1885 Field 26 Dec. 895/3 Sand-eels are known..along the Sussex coast as ‘riggles or wriggles’, from their action of burrowing into the sand. |
▪ II. wriggle, v. (
ˈrɪg(ə)l)
Also 5
wryggle, 6–7
wrigle, 7–9
riggle.
[a. (M)LG. wriggeln (LG. dial. also friggeln, vriggeln, = Du. wriggelen, WFris. wriggelje, Norw. vrigla, rigla), frequentative of wriggen: see wrig v., and cf. wiggle v.] 1. intr. To twist or turn the body about with short writhing movements; to move sinuously; to writhe, squirm, wiggle:
a. Of reptiles, etc.
| 1495 Trevisa's Barth. De P.R. xviii. ix. 758 The adder Alphibena..glydeth and wryggleth [MSS. wigleth, -eþ] wyth wrynkles. 1558 T. Phaer æneid v. M iv b, As whan some serpent..wrigling wreathes his limmes about. 1591 [see wrench v. 1]. 1606 Marston Parasit. ii. i. C j b, How the poore snake wriggles with this suddain warmth. 1665 Phil. Trans. I. 43 The Snake..by turning and wriggling laboured..to avoid it. 1821 Q. Rev. XXIV. 490 As clearly as you may see..a serpent wriggle in the grass. 1882 Besant All Sorts xx, Eels..are used to being skinned. Yet they wriggle a bit. |
b. Of things.
| 1567 Golding Ovid's Met. vi. 77 The tip of Philomelaas tongue did wriggle to and fro. 1583 B. Melbancke Philotimus Bb j b, Philomelaes tongue, which being cutte of, wrigled vp and downe a longe season. 1639 Fuller Holy War iv. xxxiii. 227 The severall parts of Insecta being cut asunder, may wriggle and stirre for a while. 1768–74 Tucker Lt. Nat. (1834) I. 471 The pieces of an eel cut asunder continue to wriggle. 1831 James Phil. Augustus III. v, His nose at the same time wriggling with most portentous agitation. 1867 F. Francis Angling iii. 65 The float will often bob and wriggle about..before the bite is confirmed. |
| fig. 1611 Tourneur Ath. Trag. iv. i, [It] makes the spirit of the flesh begin to wriggle in my bloud. |
c. Of persons (or animals): To twist, turn, or move uneasily. Also with quasi-obj.
to wriggle it, to move with a wriggling motion.
| 1573 Tusser Husb. (1878) 111 If sheepe or thy lambe fall a wrigling with taile. 1602 [see wraggle v.1 2]. 1610 B. Jonson Alchemist v. iv, Here shee is come. Downe o' your knees, and wriggle. 1657 Thornley tr. Longus' Daphnis & Chloe 125 The Lambs came under the damms, to riggle and nussle at their dugs. 1732 Swift To a Lady 90 Then apply Alecto's whip Till they [sc. villains] wriggle, howl, and skip. 1735 Somerville Chase iv. 460 On pointed Spears they lift him [sc. an otter] high in Air; Wriggling he hangs. 1856 C. M. Yonge Daisy Chain i. i, Ethel..wriggling fearfully on the wide window-seat. 1895 S. Crane Red Badge vi, He wriggled in his jacket to make a more comfortable fit. 1922 Joyce Ulysses 477 Come on, boys! Wriggle it, girls! |
| transf. and fig. 1577 [see wrest v. 8]. 1787 Best Angling (ed. 2) 10 Observe that..when put together they may not wriggle in the least. 1825 Carlyle Love-Lett. (1909) II. 159 Self is a foundation of sand... Fools writhe and wriggle and rebel at this. |
2. a. To move, proceed, or go with a writhing or worming movement. Const. with
advs., as
along,
away,
in,
out, or preps., as
from,
into,
through,
up.
| 1602 Marston Antonio's Rev. iv. ii, These vinegar tart spirits are too pearcing... Finde they a chinke, they'l wriggle in and in. 1630 J. Taylor (Water P.) Jack a Lent Wks. 117/2 The Eele..would wriggle vp and downe in his muddy habitation. 1647 Trapp Comm. Mark ix. 25 Devils run and wriggle into their holes, as worms use to do in time of thunder. 1709 T. Robinson Vind. Mosaick Syst. 67 Talons fit to hold fast the Live Prey that it wriggle not from them. 1830 W. Taylor Hist. Surv. Germ. Poetry II. 375 No lizard wriggles through the brake. 1857 Mrs. Gatty Parab. fr. Nat. Ser. ii. (1868) 129 The eels wriggled away in the mud. 1891 C. L. Morgan Anim. Sk. 235 Wriggling and squirming up a dark geen vertical wall. |
| fig. and in fig. context. 1734 Swift Let. to Faulkner Wks. 1841 II. 726/1 Is it not sufficient to see with what pain and shame he wriggles along. 1762 Warburton Doctr. Grace Pref., Truth..forbids us to riggle into her sacred presence through by-paths. 1840 Hare Mission Comf. (1846) 47 That the Understanding is over-ready to..riggle along the crooked paths of evil. 1859 Habits Gd. Society vii. 246 His words come cautiously and suspiciously wriggling up to you. |
b. To flow or run sinuously; to meander.
| 1640 [see wriggling ppl. a. 3]. 1682 W. Richards Wallogr. 34 A Rivulet which wrigled along with a crooked current. 1760 H. Walpole Let. to G. Montagu 1 Sept., The Trent wriggles through a lovely meadow. 1861 Reade Cloister & H. lxxiv, Little paths wriggling among the antiquities. 1894 Evans Freeman's Hist. Sicily IV. 388 The southern Himeras, whose salt waters wriggle to and fro in the broad dale. |
3. a. To insinuate oneself
into favour, place, etc.; to advance, ‘creep’ or get
in by wheedling or ingratiation.
| (a) 1598 B. Jonson Ev. Man in Hum. i. iv, Now dos he creepe, and wriggle into acquaintance with all the braue gallants. 1633 Shirley Gamester i. (1637) B 3 b, The Courtiers make Us cuckolds; marke, we wriggle into their Estates. a 1680 Butler Rem. (1759) I. 235 By low ignoble Offices..To wriggle into Trust and Grace. 1745 Young Nt. Th. viii. 457 Earth's subtile serpents..Which wriggle into wealth, or climb renown. c 1853 Kingsley Misc. (1859) I. 39 A scheme by which to wriggle into Court favour. 1871 Dixon Tower III. iv. 29 Lake had crept and wriggled into place and pay. |
| (b) 1636 Massinger Gt. Dk. Flor. ii. ii, This courtier..perhaps, by his place, Expects to wriggle further: if he does, I shall deceive his hopes. a 1652 Brome Queenes Exch. i. i, He's the King's Favourite;..we may fear he'l wrigle in Twixt him and us. 1691 Satyr agst. French 9 If they but wriggle in his Lordship's Ear,..they learn to domineer. 1789 Wolcot (P. Pindar) Imit. Horace i. xii, He..Who, wriggling to the Hanoverian Guards, Kept the poor Prince of Brunswick out. |
b. To make use of shuffling or sinuous means; to get
out of, escape
from, a condition or position by evasion, mean artifice or contrivance.
| a 1646 J. Burroughes Exp. Hosea v. (1652) 240 This affliction that thou doest so riggle to get out of. 1690 T. Burnet Theory Earth iii. 29 Men will wriggle any way to get from under the force of a text. 1848 W. K. Kelly tr. L. Blanc's Hist. Ten Y. II. 223 Certain to..wriggle out of its inevitable results by..dangerous artifices. 1858 Doran Court Fools 315 He wriggled out of his bargain. 1871 Blackie Four Phases i. 114 You are wriggling cunningly out of the position. |
4. a. trans. To cause to writhe, twist, or bend tortuously; to move or turn writhingly or with quick jerks. Also with
advs., as
aloft,
away,
down,
out,
up, or preps., as
from,
into.
| 1573 Tusser Husb. l. (1878) 109 Sheepe wrigling taile hath mads without faile. 1582 Stanyhurst æneis ii. (Arb.) 50 Their tayls..they [sc. two serpents] wrigled. 1648 Gage West Ind. 97 Wrigling his elbowes and shoulders scornfully from me. 1684 tr. Bonet's Merc. Compit. x. 365 The wretched Patient cannot lie down,..wrigling his body all manner of ways. 1729 Swift Direct. Serv. ii, Make room for the sauce⁓pan by wriggling it on the coals. 1806 Southey Lett. (1856) I. 381 If you can conceive a blue-bottle fly wriggling his tail. 1862 C. M. Yonge C'tess Kate ii, She wriggled her legs away from that of the chair. 1887 Eggleston Graysons xv, He tried to pull and wriggle his trousers-legs down to their normal place. |
| refl. 1665 Phil. Trans. I. 35 These [insects] would..wrigle themselves up to the top of the water again. 1739 Mrs. Delany Life & Corr. (1861) I. 45 With violent squeezing..we riggled ourselves into seats. 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. i. v. iv, Besenval is painfully wriggling himself out, to the Champ-de-Mars. |
| fig. 1712 Odes of Horace ii. 12/2 Et might easily riggle it self into the place of ut. |
b. To bring into a specified state, form, etc., by writhing or twisting. Const. with
advs., as
asunder,
off, or preps., as
into,
to.
Occas. refl. Also
fig.| 1677 Moxon Mech. Exerc. ii. 18 With your Fingers and Thumb..wriggle it quite asunder. 1857 W. C. Stewart Pract. Angler vii. (ed. 3) 138 The worm..being free to wriggle itself into any shape. 1858 [see wrench v. 10]. 1878 O. W. Holmes Motley xvii. 115 Slavery is wriggling itself to death. |
5. a. To introduce, insert, or bring
in (something) by wriggling; to insinuate (
into something).
| 1599 Nashe Lenten Stuffe E 4 b, A snaile coulde not wriggle in her hornes betwixt them. 1692 R. L'Estrange Fables i. lv. 55 A Slam, Thin-Gutted Fox made a Hard Shift to Wriggle his Body into a Hen-Roost. 1766 Museum Rust. VI. 374 As to the width of the gates,..the men..could..easily incline the roller on one side, and..wriggle it in. 1828 Lytton Pelham II. 313 Power..is a snake that when it once finds a hole into which it can introduce its head, soon manages to wriggle in the rest of its body. |
| fig. 1702 Vanbrugh False Friend i. i, I'm afraid..they'll riggle you into some ill-favour'd affair. 1767 A. Campbell Lexiph. (1774) 71 When you have wriggled in..a new-fashioned long-tailed word. |
b. To insinuate or introduce (a person) gradually (
into favour, office, etc.),
esp. by subtle or shifty means. Also with
in. Chiefly
refl.| 1670 Cotton Espernon i. iv. 180 He by the means of the Mistriss..wriggles himself into the company of the Duke's Baker. 1677 Gilpin Demonol. (1867) 355 By these arts doth Satan, like a cunning serpent, wriggle himself into the affections of men. 1710 Swift Jrnl. to Stella 5 Dec., While he was wriggling himself into my favour. 1754 H. Walpole Let. to Mann 28 March, She would have wriggled herself into the best clause in the will. 1766 ― Let. to Mann 18 July, He might have wriggled his brother in [= into office] afterwards. 1847 Alb. Smith Chr. Tadpole xvi, He wriggled himself into the good opinion of the coachman. 1874 L. Stephen Hours in Library (1892) I. x. 359 [He] wriggled himself into a peerage. |
c. To make (one's way) by sinuous motion. Also in
fig. context.
| 1863 W. Phillips Speeches viii. 214 Cunning statesmen who have wriggled their slimy way to wealth. 1891 Century Mag. March 649/1 The Pi-Utes..wriggled their way out through the passages in the rocks. 1899 E. Callow Old Lond. Tav. i. 119 Whitebait seem to have wriggled their way higher up the river. |
6. † a. To cut or carve (something) with a wriggly or sinuous pattern; to slash.
Obs.| 1610 B. Jonson Alch. iv. iii. 274 A collar of brawne, cut downe Beneath the souse, and wriggled with a knife. 1654 Gayton Pleas. Notes i. i. 4 Many more..by prowesse of the Captaine Joneses of our times..have been hackt, hew'd, wriggled and utterly confounded. |
b. To form in a tortuous or sinuous manner.
| 1760 H. Walpole Let. to Mann 20 June, Stanhope..has..wriggled a winding-gravel walk through [the groves]. 1896 Voice (N.Y.) 8 Oct. 2 Be content to wriggle pretty patterns on the mud of spoils! |
† 7. To twist, pervert.
Cf. wrest v. 5.
Obs.| 1593 Harvey Pierce's Super. Wks. (Grosart) II. 52 Sinister construction, that wreasteth and wrigleth euery sillable to the worst. 1637 J. Williams Holy Table 2 Which when it is in writing,..is no more by a disputant indeed to be wrigled and wrested. |
Hence
wriggled (
ˈrɪg(ə)ld)
ppl. a.;
wriggled work = wriggle-work s.v. wriggle-.
| 1572 J. Bossewell Armorie ii. 100 They haue..a wrigled tayle, and croked tethe like to a Bore. 1611 Cotgr., Fringotteries, frets; cranklings, wrigled flourishings, in caruings, &c. a 1643 Cartwright Ordinary ii. iii, Your hollow thumb join'd with your wriggled [dice] box. 1899 A. Lang Contemp. Rev. March 403 At each side are two-circled and one-circled specimens with the wriggled line, and two cups and circles with no wriggle. 1906 N. H. Moore Old Pewter i. 22 The tool which makes the wriggled work is of the nature of a chisel. 1955 R. F. Michaelis Antique Pewter ix. 86 English pewter from the best period, i.e. the 17th century,..displays remarkably fine applied decoration..in the form of ‘wriggled-work’ engraving. |