Day 181 - One‑Line :has() magic to push everything else to the background

🎉 An Awesome CSS Link a Day - Day 181 🎉

One‑Line :has() magic to push everything else to the background

#AnAwesomeCSSLinkADay #YouDontMessWithCSS #CSS

I'm proud to present today's link from one of my best friends Marco Pollacci. Ever wanted to dim everything except the element under the cursor? With the new `:has()` relational pseudo‑selector, you can achieve a sleek focus effect using only CSS. We all know that we can call `:has()` a "content aware" selector.

📐 Theory

The `:has()` selector lets you select a parent based on a child state, making advanced interactions simple.

1. :has() acts as a parent selector, matching an element when any inner element meets the condition.

2. You can pair `:has(p:hover)` with `p:not(:hover)` to blur inactive siblings (eg. `div:has(p:hover) p:not(:hover) { filter: blur(3px); }`).

3. Modern browsers (Chrome, Edge, Safari, Firefox) fully support `:has()`, so you can drop JavaScript for many interactivity patterns.

🚀 Today’s Link

🔗 One Line of CSS to Push Everything Else to the Background

💫 Giveaways

• Single‑line blur technique using `:has()`

• Clear explanation of selector logic and performance

• Interactive sandbox to experiment immediately

❓ Why This Rocks

• Removes JavaScript dependency for hover‑focus effects

• Enhances readability by guiding the user’s attention

• Easy to customize for lists, cards, menus, galleries

🗣️ Join the Conversation

• Have you used `:has()` in production yet?

• What other one‑liner CSS tricks are in your toolkit?

• How would you adapt this blur pattern for accessibility?