Finesse originally referred to
refinement or delicacy of workmanship, structure, or texture; that sense is
based on French fin, meaning "fine." In time, the noun was applied to
the "delicate" handling of a situation. The related verb finesse had
its start at gaming tables: 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. Similar uses of the verb implying skill and cleverness
followed.
The spelling of sully has shifted
several times since it was sylian in Old English, but its meaning has remained
essentially the same: "to soil." In case you are wondering whether
sullen (meaning "gloomy or morose") is a relative, the answer is
"no." Sullen comes from Latin solus, meaning "alone."
