Wriggle \Wrig"gle\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Wriggled}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Wriggling}.] [Freq. of wrig, probably from OE. wrikken to move to and fro; cf. LG. wriggeln, D. wrikken, Sw. vricka, Dan. vrikke.] To move the body to and fro with short, writhing motions, like a worm; to squirm; to twist uneasily or quickly about.
Both he and successors would often wriggle in their seats, as long as the cushion lasted. --Swift.
Wriggle \Wrig"gle\, v. t. To move with short, quick contortions; to move by twisting and squirming; like a worm.
Covetousness will wriggle itself out at a small hole. --Fuller.
Wriggling his body to recover His seat, and cast his right leg over. --Hudibras.
Wriggle \Wrig"gle\, n. Act of wriggling; a short or quick writhing motion or contortion. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
But as he tries to wriggle out of Bush's economic noose, Saddam is not above engaging in diplomacy with the very people in Tehran who only a few years ago sought to overthrow him.
Then there's the marsupial frog, a rain-forest dweller whose hatchlings wriggle onto their father's flanks and push their way into pockets that have formed there to complete their development.
To show how fresh their product is, Hong Kong vendors bite the snake's head off in front of customers, who get to watch the body of the reptile wriggle through the vendor's fingers as he searches for the organ.
Take a close look at the snails, says science teacher Treva Powell, as the mollusks wriggle on the desks.
Miller and Baker may help the Democrats wriggle out of their political predicament.
Yachts such as Richard Mathews' ex-America's Cup 12-metre Crusader, the Swan yachts Highland Fling VII (Irving Laidlaw) and Desperado (Richard Loftus) had to wriggle through big packs of smaller boats.
'Experience shows, however, that attempts to (dismantle subsidies) generally fail,' notes Mr Kaiser. By adopting Mr Waigel's thinly-detailed proposals the government has put itself on a hook, and the Bundesbank is unlikely to let it wriggle off easily.