Word: humbler
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Senate Styles. As the hearings continue, the distinctive styles of the Senators will become as familiar as those of celebrated TV performers. After stumbling over a difficult word ("incredulity") in a written statement, Sam Ervin at times seemed like a drawling humbler, but he also proved to be a shrewd chairman capable of suddenly shifting into the most penetrating questions...
...attempt to rival it in jeux d'esprit, or in cunningness of speculation, or otherwise poach upon its preserves. We shall be content with the humbler task of satisfying the curiosity of our readers about what is going on in Cambridge, and at other colleges, and of giving them an opportunity to express their ideas upon practical questions...
...affectation of fine writing, nor does it lay claim to literary excellence. The Advocate has this ground by right of possession; we do not attempt to rival it in deux d'esprit, or in cunningness of speculation, or otherwise poach upon its preserves. We shall be content with the humbler task of satisfying the curiousity of our readers about what is going on in Cambridge, and at other colleges, and of giving them an opportunity to express their ideas upon practical questions. It ought to be added perhaps, that, while we made no pretension to wit, we hope...
...citydwellers by industrialization in a generation or less. Many of them remain country folk at heart. To ordinary Russians, the extravagant, arbitrary privileges of their leaders, most powerfully symbolized by the secluded, luxurious villas of officialdom, will matter little so long as they too have a chance for a humbler version of the same pleasures...
Aggressive Imbecility. The American Civil War provides only slightly less rewarding material for Fair's connoisseurship. His favorite humbler seems to be one of the Union's least renowned commanders, General Ambrose Burnside. As Fair tells it, Burnside was so bad that he won at least one small victory-at New Bern, N.C., in 1862-simply because the Confederates were taken by surprise by his aggressive imbecility in storming well-protected defenses. On other occasions he was less lucky. At the battle of Antietam, for example, he spent hours trying to take a bridge to cross a shallow...