Fishing with a rod and line, especially as a hobby; also means maneuvering or positioning yourself to achieve something through clever tactics.
From angle (Old English angel, a fishing hook) plus -ing suffix. Originally meant to fish with an angled hook. The figurative sense of 'maneuvering' comes from the idea of baiting a hook strategically.
Angling is one of humanity's oldest hobbies—it requires patience, strategy, understanding animal behavior, and reading nature, which is probably why philosophers and mathematicians became obsessed with it centuries ago.
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