Word.ws English Dictionary

works the oracle

works the oracle is the third-person singular simple present indicative of work the oracle.

Meaning of work the oracle

Verb

work the oracle (third-person singular simple present works the oracle, present participle working the oracle, simple past and past participle worked the oracle)

  1. (UK, slang) To fabricate a suspect's verbal statement.
    • Holdaway reports that procedural rules are often considered irrelevant by the British police as they go about their daily duties. The occupational culture of the British police condones the use of “verbals” or “working the oracle.”2006, Thomas Barker, Police Ethics: Crisis in Law Enforcement, page 90
  2. (dated, informal) To manipulate circumstances to one's personal advantage.
    • You've thought there were some high souls that didn't do it—that wouldn't, I mean, to work the oracle, lift a little finger of their own. But, Lord bless you, give them a chance—you'll find some of the greatest the greediest.1901, Henry James, The Papers

Questions about works the oracle

What is works the oracle the third-person singular simple present indicative of?
Works the oracle is the third-person singular simple present indicative of work the oracle.

Words near works the oracle in the dictionary

  1. works the bar
  2. works the crowd
  3. works the hole
  4. works the hyphens
  5. works the line
  6. works the oracle
  7. works the refs
  8. works the room
  9. works the system
  10. works through
  11. works to rule

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: works the oracle (page history and authors); work the oracle (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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