To “wheedle” (WEE-d’l) – possibly from the Old English for “beg” – is to gain or get by using flattery or guile.
Example (as used by Ronald Weber in Hired Pens): “Editors who wished to carry original work rather than reprints found it necessary to wheedle contributions from readers by decrying inexperience as a reason for not taking up the pen and by offering prizes for submissions.”
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