From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishwinkle somebody/something ↔ out phrasal verb British English1 LEAVE A JOB OR ORGANIZATIONLEAVE A PLACEto make someone leave a place Government critics were winkled out of their positions of influence.2 FIND OUTto get information from someone who does not want to give it to you Candy was very good at winkling out secrets. → winkle→ See Verb table
