Emily Dickinson Lexicon

WORM, v.t.

1. To expel or undermine by slow and secret means. They find themselves wormed out of all power. – Swift.
2. To cut something, called a worm, from under the tongue of a dog. – Cyc.
3. To draw the wad or cartridge from a gun; to clean by the worm.
4. To wind a rope spirally round a cable, between the strands; or to wind a smaller rope with spun yarn. – Mar. Dict. To worm one's self into, to enter gradually by arts and insinuations; as, to worm one's self into favor.