work the oracle

work the oracle

To manipulate something for one's personal gain (often financially). Primarily heard in UK. In order to win that much money gambling, he must have worked the oracle.
See also: work
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
See also:
  • play (something) off as (something else)
  • work (someone or something)
  • work it
  • a ball and chain
  • (one's) true colours
  • weight (something) against (someone or something)
  • weight against
  • weighted
  • play each side against the other
  • play one against another
References in periodicals archive
Can John Evans work the oracle? IT'S eight years now since the Garden County made round four of the qualifiers but the arrival of John Evans coincides with emergence of young players to provide some optimism.
WICKLOW Garden
KENNY DALGLISH has failed to work the oracle sign returning as Liverpool boss and things look set to get worse for the An eld legend today.
Sam Spread Colin Duncan
To work the oracle was actually a form of cheating.
The oracle just doesn't work for me
Lukas Jutkiewicz has struggled to make an impact at first team level since arriving at Goodison Park and is hoping a six-month loan spell at Motherwell will work the oracle.
Lukas goes with Well wishes
She can work the oracle again with this well-bred five-year-old.
One El of a shock; TOWCESTER
THE Willie Mullins magic could well work the oracle twice today at Navan with Ballytrim and Taipan's Way.
Mullins set to work magic for a tasty double
The vote will not be for another 18 months or more, which gives Blair and his sharp-suited phalanx of Champagne Socialists plenty of time to work the oracle and find a suitably loaded question for the ballot paper.
Letter: Readers Letter
SCOTS jockey Peter Niven has helped work the oracle with former Martin Pipe chaser Or Royal, who was switched to Mary Reveley's stable this spring after changing hands.
Niven's Magic Touch
Can Pat GILROY work the oracle? GILROY'S reign has been a testing one so far with some chastening defeats in the League, albeit they showed patches of form in places.
DUBLIN Dubs
First-time blinkers may also work the oracle, and the trainer has a 28 per cent strike-rate with his few runners at the course.
BEST LONGSHOT
FIRST-TIME blinkers appeared to work the oracle for Musical Day (7-2) in the second division of the maiden at Lingfield yesterday.
Racing: MOORE STEPS IN ON LUCKY DAY
Can Andy McEntee work the oracle? ((HAVING led Ballyboden St Enda's to a first-ever All-Ireland football title, hopes were high when McEntee agreed to come home.
Meath Royals
Avram Grant has failed to work the oracle so far and the only plus point is that Coventry are no great shakes either.
A long night in Cov would be nothing out of the ordinary; STEVE DAVIES'S VERDICT
Little Firecracker was good enough to beat her current stablemate and Fred Winter Juvenile Hurdle runner-up Ski Sunday when on the Flat, and if Vaughan can work the oracle she could well have a say in this sphere.
BEST LONGSHOT
They'll be worth following when they team up with Gala Casino Star in the 4.10 at Haydock, with a 35% success rate this season Jamie Spencer (below) tends to work the oracle on most of the horses he rides and you can find one such example at Haydock (2.10).
THE STATS THAT MATTER