Verb for getting something (e.g. information) by cunning and/or perseverance [duplicate]

Finagle

I think the word finagle has all of the connotations you are looking for.

Although he refused to tell me where he got the money from, I persevered and finally finagled the information out of him.

Merriam Webster defines finagle as follows:

finagle - intransitive verb

1 : to obtain by indirect or involved means "finagle a ride home"

2 : to obtain by trickery "He finagled his way into the concert."

3 : to use devious or dishonest methods to achieve one's ends "A con man finagled my neighbor out of $400."

Some synonyms for finagle: deceive, manipulate, scheme, swindle, trick

[1] - https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/finagle

[2] - https://www.thesaurus.com/browse/finagle

It's slightly informal, but per Macmillan Dictionary...

ferret out
to discover information by searching for it in a determined way

(A metaphoric reference to using ferrets to catch small game such as rabbits, which would obviously hide to avoid being detected. The point being that the hunter's search is wilfully obstructed.)

It's often used in contexts where one or more people already have the required information, but don't want to reveal it - a TV interviewer trying to get a politician to admit potentially damaging facts, for example (see an estimated 13,300 results for ferret out the truth in Google Books).