from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Worm \Worm\, v. t.
1. To effect, remove, drive, draw, or the like, by slow and
secret means; -- often followed by out.
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They find themselves wormed out of all power.
--Swift.
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They . . . wormed things out of me that I had no
desire to tell. --Dickens.
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2. To clean by means of a worm; to draw a wad or cartridge
from, as a firearm. See {Worm}, n. 5
(b) .
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3. To cut the worm, or lytta, from under the tongue of, as a
dog, for the purpose of checking a disposition to gnaw.
The operation was formerly supposed to guard against
canine madness.
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The men assisted the laird in his sporting parties,
wormed his dogs, and cut the ears of his terrier
puppies. --Sir W.
Scott.
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4. (Naut.) To wind rope, yarn, or other material, spirally
round, between the strands of, as a cable; to wind with
spun yarn, as a small rope.
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Ropes . . . are generally wormed before they are
served. --Totten.
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{To worm one's self into}, to enter into gradually by arts
and insinuations; as, to worm one's self into favor.
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