finesse

“Where even, contradicting ideas held together at the same time is often just interesting, at the very least, and then you can sort of finesse interesting into funny, at a certain point.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026

In the ballet rehearsal, they warm up, they finesse, they practice and pretend.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

Against Cape Verde, Spain lacked finesse in their passing.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

Lalo’s prominent violin part was played at the gala with impressive finesse by Hilary Hahn as guest.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026

I tell Jack that finesse is not a concept that agrees with him.

From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee

Soft and supple, it finesses the line between elegance and heft.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 8, 2021

Black bass are good on spinners, crankbaits, and green pumpkin finesses plastic worms in 12-18’ fishing deeper docks, main lake points with near timber, drop-offs, and points.

From Washington Times ● Nov. 4, 2020

Grant attempts two tricky maneuvers with “Harpoon” and, for the most part, finesses them both.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2019

These stories drift, but Johnson finesses his way through them, his prose vernacular and elevated at the same time.

From New York Times ● Jan. 15, 2018

Hoagland would say that now was the time for playing certain finesses, that in the wake of the activity arose those moments that could be manipulated.

From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee

Dosa has finessed this emotional-meets-elemental space before in her Academy Award-nominated 2022 documentary “Fire of Love,” about married volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026

Berkshire does own about $60 billion of Apple stock, but that issue likely could be finessed to get Cook.

From Barron's ● Apr. 24, 2026

It’s a mammalian innovation, honed and finessed in the latter stages of the Mesozoic era, the so-called Age of Reptiles.

From Slate ● Sep. 7, 2024

In bright, airy studios in London and Malibu, they finessed what would become Lipa’s most ambitious — and euphoric-sounding — record to date.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 30, 2024

UC Berkeley’s medical school would not get over its disdain for John’s studies for years, until the situation was finessed by the creation of a separate laboratory for radiation science in 1942.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

And there are some feelings about this show’s return that no amount of script finessing can alter.

From Salon ● Sep. 10, 2026

He won the bid on the basis of completing the project in three days but then spent three months finessing the terms of the contract before subcontracting the job.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 28, 2026

So it’s a pleasure to report that actor-turned-filmmaker Matthew Shear, with his debut feature “Fantasy Life,” shows a facility for finessing a meal that lands the last bite.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 3, 2026

With enough time and imagination, kickers and equipment managers are capable of finessing footballs in ways that make them soar.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2025

He played with me, openly and ostentatiously, like a skilful matador finessing round an infuriated bull.

From Leaves in the Wind by A. G. (Alfred George) Gardiner