The word for today is…

wheedle (verb) – 1. To obtain through the use of flattery or guile.
2. To persuade or attempt to persuade by flattery or guile; cajole.

Source : The Free Dictionary

Etymology : Wheedle has been a part of the English lexicon since the mid-17th century, though no one is quite sure how the word made its way into English. (It has been suggested that the term may have derived from an Old English word that meant “to beg,” but this is far from certain.) Once established in the language, however, wheedle became a favorite of some of the language’s most illustrious writers. Wheedle and its related forms appear in the writings of Wordsworth, Dickens, Kipling, Dryden, Swift, Scott, Tennyson, and Pope, among others.

Peter is a fourth-generation New Zealander, with his mother's and father's folks having arrived in New Zealand in the 1870s. He lives in Lower Hutt with his wife, some cats and assorted computers. His...