Word: offendable
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...trying to write the life of the late Francis Chegwidden Cornish, a distinguished art collector and connoisseur, finds himself stymied. It is bad enough that he has turned up hints of fakery in Cornish's long and otherwise exemplary career. These suspicions, if proved and published, will offend the immensely rich and powerful Cornish family and sully the reputation of the Cornish Trust, one of Canada's most respectable financial institutions. Worse, the aspiring biographer must admit that he cannot determine the influences that molded his man. Research has led only to the impenetrable mystery suggested by the old English...
...film, though, lies dormant in its own decency. Richard Attenborough's movies are like the best-behaved guests at a Swiss embassy reception; they never offend, never impress. So he will not force the narrative into revealing new corners, or visualize a number with anything as raw and tasteless as imagination. But discretion can take A Chorus Line only so far. Onstage the characters were small, vulnerable creatures on a big, bare stage; onscreen they must trumpet XXXXX aborted in midflight to concentrate on all the suffering wimpery of the plot. Zach (Michael Douglas), the genius director, must brood...
...charming purveyors of the China brand in Australia - officially and unofficially - have been very successful in massaging the minds of the powerful and those yet to be burnt on a business venture in China. So much so, that the idea of "not wanting to offend the Chinese" (whatever that means) is routinely heard in private among business leaders and those with privileged access to Beijing's facilitators. Of course, peddling the notion of a China whose feelings are fragile is a brilliant negotiating tactic. Why fault the Chinese for trying it on? But such spinelessness debases Australia, its traditions...
Still, Summers has shown something of an innate ability to offend his audience—even when he’s trying his hardest...
...when members of the presidential search committee expressed concern over Summers’ “sometimes abrasive” demeanor, the outsider Rubin was enlisted to convince them otherwise, according to two former Harvard officials familiar with the search. Summers had long ago ditched his propensity to offend, Rubin told them...