Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - winkle

 I. noun  Etymology: by shortening  Date: 1585 peri~ II  II. intransitive verb  (~d; winkling)  Etymology: frequentative of wink  Date: 1791 t~  III. transitive verb  (~d; winkling)  Etymology: 1~; from the process of extracting a ~ from its shell  Date: 1918  1. chiefly British to displace, remove, or evict from a position — usually used with out  2. chiefly British to obtain or draw out by effort — usually used with out no attempt to ~ out why they do it — Joan Bakewell