The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word FINESSE
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
F
I
N
E
S
S
E
More clues leading to the result FINESSE
- Polish city in central Europe provided retreats
- Polish force that is defending point
- Polish punishments extremely severe!
- Adroitness of female actually existing
- Financial penalties with case of severe and skilful manipulation
- Delicacy that’s unlimited if in Essex
- Financial penalties needing case of subtle flair
- Excellent ship backed by energy and skill
- Subtlety from Orff in essential piece
- Woolf in essence shows skill
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Polish" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case polish = finesse.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does FINESSE mean?
FINESSE noun- Skill in the handling or manipulation of a situation.
- The property of having elegance, grace, refinement, or skill.
- An adroit manoeuvre.
- 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.
- To evade (a problem, situation, etc.) by using some clever argument or strategem.
- To play (a card) as a finesse.
- To handle or manage carefully or skilfully; to manipulate in a crafty way.
- To attempt to win a trick by finessing.
- To play a ball out of the way of an opponent.