subtly skillful handling of a situation

Subtilty of contrivance to gain a point; artifice; stratagem.

The act of finessing. See Finesse, v. i., 2.

To use artifice or stratagem.

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.

Artifice or trick; skill; dexterity.

To use artifice.

Artifice; subtile stratagem.

Subtle contrivance; artifice; artfulness; skill.

Subtilty of contrivance to gain a point; artifice; finessing at cards.

To use artifice; to attempt to take a trick with a low card so as to make sure of a second with a higher.

Artifice; stratagem.

And Langdon was, and is now, such a past master of finesse that he compels the admiration even of his victims. – The Deluge by David Graham Phillips

I know you don't credit me with much finesse, but I would undertake to be in the secret and to do quite as well; the only difference would be in my own peace of mind, which, of course, doesn't count. – A Thief in the Night by E. W. Hornung

It might take some diplomatic finesse to persuade the old scientist to hire himself out to a newspaper. – Death Points a Finger by Will Levinrew

He abandoned the finesse of negotiation. – The Plum Tree by David Graham Phillips

The spirit of finesse, manoeuvre, subtlety, and double- dealing pervaded every family. – Calderon The Courtier A Tale by Edward Bulwer-Lytton

In short, to quote the language of a clever contemporary, she must have " the genius of tact to perceive, and the genius of finesse to execute; ease and frankness of manner; a knowledge of the world that nothing can surprise; a calmness of temper that nothing can disturb; and a kindness of disposition that can never be exhausted." – Routledge's Manual of Etiquette by George Routledge

" It is you and I, Miss Finesse. – The Bertrams by Anthony Trollope

Was it that his hand had lost its old- time finesse and his mind its keen edge, or had his mental stress and fagged nerves been the cause of his bungling? – The Gray Phantom's Return by Herman Landon

The race is barbarous, and then it changes to civilized; in the one case the strong rob the weak by brute force; in the other the crafty rob the unwary by finesse. – The Complete Essays of C. D. Warner by Charles Dudley Warner

He had need of all the finesse which he could command if he hoped to win a place in her confidence. – Every Man for Himself by Hopkins Moorhouse

The worst of it was that there was no finesse in all this. – The Tenants of Malory Volume 1 of 3 by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

It is a strange combination- this democratic sympathy, with a later developed French finesse of technique, so clearly felt in comparing one of his " soil" plays, like " Alabama," with a more finished product, like " As a Man Thinks." – Representative Plays by American Dramatists: 1856-1911: In Mizzoura by Augustus Thomas

It might be only social finesse in Pearl but she was showing to others the same pleased vivacity she had shown to him. – The Wrong Twin by Harry Leon Wilson

I told him I saw all the finesse of a tradesman about him. – An History of Birmingham (1783) by William Hutton

This finesse had the desired effect, for during our absence they mounted a few guns on a hill, which commanded the passage, and gave us in lieu of the dollars, a warm salute on our return. – The Pirates Own Book by Charles Ellms

And even here the matter is comparatively simple; for in reading the following sentence from Walter Pater, note the manifold variations in your own utterance of it at different times and imagine how it would be read by a person of dull sensibilities, by one of keen poetic feeling, and finally by one who recalled its context and on that account could enjoy its fullest richness: " It is the landscape, not of dreams or of fancy, but of places far withdrawn, and hours selected from a thousand with a miracle of finesse." – The Principles of English Versification by Paull Franklin Baum

There is no doubt about the thoroughness of the man and the cunning with which he lays even the smallest plans, and though I was a little contemptuous of his finesse at the moment, I must confess I was thankful enough for it not so very long afterwards. – The Spy in Black by J. Storer Clouston

It is, of course, a simple enough ditty, which, however, demands considerable finesse, suggestive action, and a strain of humor to make it go as it should. – Famous Prima Donnas by Lewis Clinton Strang

We accomplish the same result with more finesse in the East. – The Lady Doc by Caroline Lockhart

A proud, defiant look of the queen- mother was the reply to this objection, which was by no means deficient in finesse; and both of them, almost sure of their victory, went to look for Maria Theresa, who had been waiting for them with impatience. – Louise de la Valliere by Alexandre Dumas, Pere