tickle the wire

verb

To create a situation that will encourage the target of a criminal probe to speak and divulge information on a wiretapped telephone.

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Meanings

verbtickle the wire (third-person singular simple present tickles the wire, present participle tickling the wire, simple past and past participle tickled the wire)

present singular third person tickles the wire · participle present tickling the wire · participle past tickled the wire · past tickled the wire

  1. idiomaticcriminologyTo create a situation that will encourage the target of a criminal probe to speak and divulge information on a wiretapped telephone.
Cite this entry
APA

tickle the wire. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tickle%20the%20wire

MLA

“tickle the wire.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tickle%20the%20wire. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tickle the wire,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tickle%20the%20wire.

Source: tickle the wire on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.