finesse vs polish

finesse

verb
  • To handle or manage carefully or skilfully; to manipulate in a crafty way. 

  • To play (a card) as a finesse. 

  • To obtain something from someone through trickery or manipulation. 

  • To evade (a problem, situation, etc.) by using some clever argument or stratagem. 

  • To attempt to win a trick by finessing. 

noun
  • An adroit manoeuvre. 

  • The property of having elegance, grace, refinement, or skill. 

  • 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. 

  • Skill in the handling or manipulation of a situation. 

polish

verb
  • To refine; to wear off the rudeness, coarseness, or rusticity of; to make elegant and polite. 

  • To apply shoe polish to shoes. 

  • To become smooth, as from friction; to receive a gloss; to take a smooth and glossy surface. 

  • To shine; to make a surface very smooth or shiny by rubbing, cleaning, or grinding. 

  • To refine; remove imperfections from. 

noun
  • Refinement; cleanliness in performance or presentation. 

  • Cleanliness; smoothness, shininess. 

  • A substance used to polish. 

How often have the words finesse and polish occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )