IRREDIOMS ~ A look at common idioms
2009-11-04 / Irregular Regulars
Phrases, sayings & expressions, what they mean & where they came from
Wheel and Deal
To skillfully and aggressively make big plans with important business, usually to earn a lot of money.
The slang expression for an important person is “big wheel.” A “wheeler-dealer” is an important person who makes substantial deals. The saying originated in gambling houses of the American West, where there were gamblers who were heavy betters at cards (“deal”) and roulette (“wheel”). Sometimes this phrase refers to people who are big-time operators in tricky, perhaps dishonest ways.
He thinks he’s such an operator, but he wheels and deals only at yard sales.(From the “Dictionary of Idioms,” Marvin Terban, Scholastic Inc., publisher, 1996)
