Word of the Day

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6

Acerbic

[ə-SIR-bik]

Part of speech: adjective

Origin: Latin, 19th century

Sharp or harshly critical in tone

Having a sour or bitter taste

Examples of Acerbic in a sentence

Her professor’s acerbic criticisms made her regret taking the class.

The lemon juice gave an acerbic note to the pasta.

About Acerbic

The root of acerbic is the Latin adjective "acerbus," meaning harsh or unpleasant. The meaning has held true in English, with the adjective "acerbic" being applied to anything with a sharp, sarcastic, or cutting delivery.

Did you Know?

The original meaning of "acerbic" concerned a literal bitter taste but it has evolved to describe a more figurative harsh tone or expression. You could enjoy a sour flavor, but you’re not likely to enjoy a sourpuss with an acerbic nature.

Comments

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

Napoleon tolerated his partner's acerbic jabs when it came to criticizing his French accent. He supposed he could have just told him that he learned his French, called Quebecois, from his French-Canadian mother, but like Illya, there were a few secrets Solo liked to keep as well. He knew his accent annoyed the hell out of the Russian and that in and of itself was payback for the many things Illya purposefully did to annoy him.

He supposed he'd eventually tell the truth to Illya, who fancied himself quite the linguist, but not today.... Napoleon would wait to see egg on his partner's face when he questioned Kuryakin's lack of knowledge when it came to the Quebecois dialect.

[pfrye.livejournal.com]

Napoleon Solo grimaced and tried not to gag as he downed the acerbic concoction that his Russian partner gave him to drink. He had possibly downed a poisoned martini while waiting for a contact at a local bar. By the time he had returned to headquarters he was lightheaded, nauseated, and feeling decidedly unwell and unable to walk. He had called medical and requested assistance. Illya had run to the commissary and had returned with a mug of brown liquid and had told Napoleon to drink it down quickly. Napoleon was bent over his trashcan, hoping none of the ladies would see him in this position when medical arrived. Despite a sore stomach and a raging headache he was feeling much better. He did NOT want to ever know what his partner had given him to drink.

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

Just what did Illya give him? Yikes. Poor Napoleon. Good one!