I. win ‧ kle 1 /ˈwɪŋk ə l/ BrE AmE noun [countable] British English
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Origin: ⇨ ↑ periwinkle 2 ]
a small sea animal that lives in a shell and is eaten as food
II. winkle 2 BrE AmE verb
winkle somebody/something ↔ out phrasal verb British English
1 . to make someone leave a place:
Government critics were winkled out of their positions of influence.
2 . to get information from someone who does not want to give it to you:
Candy was very good at winkling out secrets.