delicacy, diplomacy, discreetness, finesse
(noun) subtly skillful handling of a situation
Source: WordNet® 3.1
finesse (countable and uncountable, plural finesses)
(uncountable) Skill in the handling or manipulation of a situation. [from c. 1520]
Synonym: finessing
(uncountable) The property of having elegance, grace, refinement, or skill. [from mid 16th c.]
(countable) An adroit manoeuvre. [from mid 16th c.]
(countable, card games) In bridge, whist, etc.: a technique which allows one to win a trick, usually by playing a card when it is thought that a card that can beat it is held by another player whose turn is over. [from early 18th c.]
finesse (third-person singular simple present finesses, present participle finessing, simple past and past participle finessed)
(transitive, chiefly, Canada, US, politics) To evade (a problem, situation, etc.) by using some clever argument or strategem.
(transitive, card games) To play (a card) as a finesse. [from mid 18th c.]
(ambitransitive) To handle or manage carefully or skilfully; to manipulate in a crafty way. [from mid 18th c.]
Synonym: zhoosh (slang)
(intransitive, card games) To attempt to win a trick by finessing. [from mid 18th c.]
(intransitive, croquet, obsolete) To play a ball out of the way of an opponent.
Source: Wiktionary
Fi`nesse" ( or ), n. Etym: [F., fr. fin fine. See Fine, a.]
1. Subtilty of contrivance to gain a point; artifice; stratagem. This is the artificialest piece of finesse to persuade men into slavery. Milton.
2. (Whist Playing)
Definition: The act of finessing. See Finesse, v. i., 2.
Fi*nesse", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Finessed; p. pr. & vb. n. Finessing.]
1. To use artifice or stratagem. Goldsmith.
2. (Whist Playing)
Definition: To attempt, when second or third player, to make a lower card answer the purpose of a higher, when an intermediate card is out, risking the chance of its being held by the opponent yet to play.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
26 December 2024
(noun) personal as opposed to real property; any tangible movable property (furniture or domestic animals or a car etc)
The first coffee-house in Mecca dates back to the 1510s. The beverage was in Turkey by the 1530s. It appeared in Europe circa 1515-1519 and was introduced to England by 1650. By 1675 the country had more than 3,000 coffee houses, and coffee had replaced beer as a breakfast drink.
