Word of the Day

: December 18, 2009

finesse

verb fuh-NESS

What It Means

1 : to make a finesse in playing cards : to play (a card) in a finesse

2 a : to bring about, direct, or manage by adroit maneuvering

b : evade, skirt

finesse in Context

"A surer hand behind the camera might've finessed the jokes more effectively, or established a consistent and satisfying tone." (Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune, November 6, 2009)

Did You Know?

"Finesse" was a noun for more than 200 years before it became a verb. In the early 16th century the noun "finesse" was used to refer to refinement or delicacy of workmanship, structure, or texture. Soon thereafter it developed the "skillful handling of a situation" meaning most common today. The first use of the verb "finesse," however, was not as a corollary of one of these meanings. Instead, its meaning had to do with cards: if you finesse in a game like bridge or whist, you withhold your highest card or trump in the hope that a lower card will take the trick because the only opposing higher card is in the hand of an opponent who has already played. The other verb meanings of "finesse" developed within a few decades of this one.