[Ads-l] Further Antedating of "Finagle"

[Shapiro, Fred]

finagle (OED 1926)

1922 Evening News (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) 23 Mar. 12/3 (Newspapers.com)  In this day of fly by night phenagling about poundage, getting under the bantamweight limit is rather an art, especially if you are a bantam.

1924 Hamilton (Ohio) Daily News 29 Oct. 4/3 (Newspapers.com)  A finagler, however, is one who continually tries to cheat.  "Quite [sic] finagling with those cards" is an example quoted by Mr. Selzer.

Fred Shapiro

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