weasel

plural weasels · alternative weazel · alternative weazle

1. Any of the carnivorous mammals of the genera Mustela, Neogale, Poecilogale, and Lyncodon, having a slender body, a long tail and usually a light brown upper coat and light-coloured belly.

   An old traditional prescription for provoking erotic inclinations ran as follows, The toe of the foot of a man, anointed with oil, or honey, or the ashes of a weasel.

   1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 234

   Synonyms: mustela

2. A least weasel (Mustela nivalis).
3. Any of certain other species of the family Mustelidae.
4. derogatoryinformalA devious or sneaky person or animal, or a statement that is technically true but intentionally misleading.

   Once you've gone beyond the scripted speeches, soundbites and cliches, you'll notice how the debate about leadership is primarily divided between the three governors and two senators, the other two weasels, Donald Trump and Ben Carson notwithstanding.

   2016 February 8, Marwan Bishara, “Why Obama fails the leadership test in the Middle East”, in Al Jazeera English

5. A type of yarn winder used for counting the yardage of handspun yarn; spinner's weasel. It most commonly has a wooden peg or dowel that pops up from the gearing mechanism after a certain number of yards have been wound onto the winder.

present singular third person weasels · US participle present weaseling · UK participle present weaselling · US participle past weaseled · US past weaseled · UK participle past weaselled · UK past weaselled · alternative weazel · alternative weazle

1. transitiveTo achieve by clever or devious means.

   Prisoners are notorious for weaseling day passes to get out of lockup […] .

   2010 (publication date), Tony Dajer, "Vital Signs", Discover, ISSN 0274-7529, volume 32, number 1, January–February 2011, page 10

2. reflexivetransitiveTo gain something for oneself by clever or devious means.

   Within just a couple of days, she [a dog] had weaseled her way into our hearts.

   2010, Susie Davis, Uncovered: Revealing the Secrets of a Sexy Marriage, page 147

   1 more example

   He's weaseled himself into a position where he can influence the outcome of this election.

   2006, Tony Ruggiero, Alien Deception

3. intransitiveTo engage in clever or devious behavior.

   Authority figures have a history of weaseling on this topic.

   1996, Stefan Bechtel, Larry Stains, Sex: A Man's Guide, page 151