Word: defter
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...knows that the antique French spoke with Oxford accents. Here, though, the aristocrats speak breadbasket American, while the servants talk with an English or Irish lilt -- a subtle joke on the imperialism of American culture. If there is a pitfall in this strategy, it is that American actors are defter at explosions than at epigrams. They are not trained, as the English are, to coil themselves in hauteur. So at times Malkovich plays the evil dandy too diligently; on his brow you can almost see the fop sweat. Then gradually he learns to trust the intimacy of Frears' close...
With Shultz now in charge of the Administration's hottest foreign problem, speculation arose over what he would do with that power and whether he could hold it. Did it mean a defter and softer touch in Central America? If so, would the White House and Pentagon hard-liners keep hands off for long? Shultz has never publicly differed from the Reagan attitude toward the region, so all of the fuss last week may signal no substantial policy change. "The policy is taking a hell of a beating in terms of credibility," observes a senior State Department official...
Theoretically, the Administration was correct to hew a neutral line between Iran and Iraq, but changing circumstances call for a defter touch than the U.S. has displayed thus far. Says Richard Helms, a former U.S. Ambassador to Iran (and onetime head of the Central Intelligence Agency): "Now is the time to come to the aid of our moderate Arab friends...