Manoeuvring, in this sense, is the use of clever — and sometimes not fully honest — methods to get what you want. It is the quiet moving of people, rules, and timing: meetings before the meeting, a job opened for a friend, a problem delayed until the other side is tired. “Political manoeuvring” is rarely a compliment. It is not always a crime; it is often legal, even ordinary, in offices and governments. But the word does not sound fully open. You use it when the path to the prize is indirect. Though actually, the same spelling is also the ordinary -ing form of manoeuvre the vehicle-word: manoeuvring a van into a tight space. That sense is practical and clean. This entry is the other one — the social game. British spelling; American maneuvering.