ETYMOLOGY
from earwig (to annoy or attempt to influence by private talk) + -ing
EXAMPLE
“…I remember the first introduction of Boswell on what may be called the Johnsonian stage. What is ludicrously called his earwigging, began to attract notice; and my father enquired of Mr. Langton, who this novel performer was, meaning rather, I believe, to be on good terms with him, as a frequenter in Bolt Court…”
From: Memoirs, Anecdotes, Facts, and Opinions
By Laetitia Matilda Hawkins, 1824
Lexicophilia 