deft

Preposition: of

• touch: Craig Buckley drifted one toward the top corner and Matty McNeil scored with the deftest of touches.

Modifies a noun

• footwork: At short notice he became unavailable but by deft footwork a late stand-in was found - David Cameron, the then would-be Tory leader.
• flick: Neil Grayson played a deft flick to his left which found Heath.
• lob: The keeper was left hopelessly stranded as Chris Moore beat him with a deft 10-yard lob into the empty net.
• touch: They took forward the observation of light effects with deft touches of colored pigments.
• handling: The Iraqi leadership reaped a public relations windfall last weekend with its deft handling of the hijack of a Saudi airliner to Baghdad.
• stroke: Modern Japan as it exists really is uncovered with deft, accurate strokes of the pen.

Modifying Another Word

• very: The little five year old on the right is very deft.
• so: His are dishes of supreme quality, served by waiters so deft they could be performing ballet!
• equally: T he train of course is as packed as our previous commute and the art of metro newspaper folding is an equally deft skill.
• particularly: I keep scrapbooks, love to read, love cats and cards and skiing, and am not particularly deft at driving or cooking.
• surprisingly: Julia, showing a surprisingly deft sympathetic streak, offers him tea and a seat for a while.