caustic, glib, lurk, self-centred, retort, gloating. lurking suspicion/disease

Martin Amis, British writer who cast caustic eye on society, dies at 73 https://wapo.st/45mcJ5W

WASHINGTONPOST.COM

Martin Amis, British writer who cast caustic eye on society, dies at 73

 Caustic Light on White House's Reaction to a Terrorist Threat

By ROBERT F. WORTH and ERIC SCHMITT

The decision to shut some American diplomatic posts in the Middle East has prompted gloating among jihadists and criticism by some officials who say the Obama administration overreacted.

Shattered Homes and Lurking Disease: Quake Hardships Pile Up in Turkey

Hundreds of thousands of people are sheltering in tents, breathing air thick with pollutants unleashed from tombs of rubble.

Diplomatic entreaties to the Chinese government have been brushed aside. Foreign reporters who ask about his plight have been treated to glib retorts.


Risks Lurk in Obama's Poll Ratings

Obama has many reasons to feel good about his standing with the public. But he should be concerned about warning signs flashing amid those positive readings, writes Gerald Seib.

And let me close with another thought. I am far from glib about the economy. It has a lot of pitfalls facing it. As workers and investors, we know that many dangers lurk in our paths.




The seeds of that notion were planted during the newly prosperous postwar years. Happiness then was not some hard-won spiritual attainment. In Don’s glib assessment, it was rather “the smell of a new car ... freedom from fear. It’s a billboard on the side of the road that screams: ‘Whatever you’re doing, is O.K. You are O.K.’ ”

Zen and the Art of the Sport Cliché
Serena Williams resorted to the language of glib self-forgiveness after her outburst Saturday cost her match point.

glib 
adjective glibber, glibbest
(Of words or a speaker) fluent but insincere and shallow:the glib phrases soon roll off the tongue

speaking or spoken in a confident and persuasive way but without honesty or careful consideration:
He's a glib, self-centred man.
No one was convinced by his glib answers/explanations.

Origin

Late 16th century (also in the sense 'smooth, unimpeded'): ultimately of Germanic origin; related to Dutch 'slippery' and German glibberig 'slimy'.

More

• There are a number of other words, such as greasy, oily, and slimy, that link the idea of smoothness and slipperiness with insincere speech or behaviour. To give a glib answer is to speak fluently but insincerely and shallowly; one of its first meanings, in the late 16th century, was ‘smooth or unimpeded’. It is ultimately of Germanic origin and related to Dutch glibberig ‘slippery’, and Germanglibberig ‘slimy’.

glibly 
adverb
He spoke glibly about an economic recovery just around the corner.

caustic

Pronunciation: /ˈkɔːstɪk, ˈkɒst-/

adjective

• 1 able to burn or corrode organic tissue by chemical action:a caustic cleaner

• 2 sarcastic in a scathing and bitter way:the players were making caustic comments about the refereeing

• 3 Physics formed by the intersection of reflected or refracted parallel rays from a curved surface.

noun

• 1a caustic substance.

• 2 Physics a caustic surface or curve.

Derivatives

caustically
adverb

causticity

Pronunciation: /-ˈtɪsɪti/

noun

Origin:

late Middle English: via Latin from Greek kaustikos, from kaustos 'combustible', from kaiein 'to burn'

gloat

Pronunciation: /gləʊt/

verb

[no object]

• dwell on one’s own success or another’s misfortune with smugness or malignant pleasure:his enemies gloated over his death (as adjective gloating)gloating accounts of his triumphs

noun

[in singular] informal

• an act of gloating: I would join her for a good gloat

Derivatives

gloater
noun

gloatingly

adverb

Origin:

late 16th century: of unknown origin; perhaps related to Old Norse glotta 'to grin' and Middle High German glotzen 'to stare'. The original sense was 'give a sideways or furtive look', hence 'cast amorous or admiring glances'; the current sense dates from the mid 18th century

lurk 
verb
1 [I usually + adverb or preposition] to wait or move in a secret way so that you cannot be seen, especially because you are about to attack someone or do something wrong:
Someone was lurking in the shadows.
Why are you lurking about in the corridor?

2 [I usually + adverb or preposition] (of an unpleasant feeling or quality) to exist although it is not always noticeable:
Danger lurks around every corner.
It seems that old prejudices are still lurking beneath the surface.

3 [I] INFORMAL to enter a chat room (= an address on the Internet where people can talk to each other using email) and read other people's messages without allowing them to know you are present

lurking 
adjective
I have some lurking doubts (= doubts which will not go completely away) about whether Simon is really capable of doing this job.
She said she had a lurking suspicion (= she had a very slight feeling) that he wasn't telling the truth.




re·tort¹ (rĭ-tôrt')
v., -tort·ed, -tort·ing, -torts. v.tr.

1. 1. To reply, especially to answer in a quick, caustic, or witty manner. See synonyms at answer.
   2. To present a counterargument to.
2. To return in kind; pay back.

v.intr.

1. To make a reply, especially a quick, caustic, or witty one.
2. To present a counterargument.
3. To return like for like; retaliate.

n.

1. A quick incisive reply, especially one that turns the first speaker's words to his or her own disadvantage.
2. The act or an instance of retorting.

[Latin retorquēre, retort-, to bend back, retort : re-, re- + torquēre, to bend, twist.]