Word: tactlessness
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...chance that none of the defendants will come to trial, for two reasons: 1) indictment of the Americans might lead to pressures for their extradition-an unlikely prospect; 2) with Italy asking for U.S. loans to shore up the lira, pressing criminal charges against U.S. citizens might seem tactless. But the commission may act against the Americans anyway, if only to diffuse Italian cynicism about politicians and that international symbol of trouble-Lockheed...
Peonies for Life. How one misses that old supporting cast! Much more than Poirot, Miss Marple inhabits a fixed and lively world. There is her tactless next-door neighbor, Miss Hartnell. "weather-beaten and jolly and much dreaded by the poor"; the wealthy, amiable Bantrys; taciturn Sir Henry dithering, who once ran Scotland Yard; and the village snob, Mrs. Price Ridley. Among Agatha Christie lovers, that lady is justly famous for putting a pound in the offertory bag on the anniversary of her son's death and then severely taxing gentle Vicar Clement when his counts show the largest...
...practice of some of her Southern slaveholding ancestors who allowed back talk from black mammies as a form of amusement. She was certainly capable of such cruel diversions. Despite Rose's profuse claims of devotion, her book leaves little doubt that she felt Lady Astor was self-centered, tactless, sadistic, incapable of affection, a racial and religious bigot and even an abuser of pets...
...startled British Prime Minister Harold Wilson by enthusiastically grabbing his face with both hands, Italian "good-ta-see-ya" style. Then, motioning toward a blonde woman in Wilson's entourage, the President asked: "Is that the one we've been hearing about?" It was an obvious and tactless reference to Wilson's private secretary, Marcia Williams, who has been implicated in a land speculation deal that threatens to scandalize Britain (see THE WORLD). An approximate equivalent would be Wilson asking: "Is that the one who erased the tape?" Afterward, Wilson murmured to an aide: "This might have...
Bette's humor is tart, tactless and, on occasion, spontaneous. "Kevin White invited me to the Two O'Clock Lounge," she told her largely gay audience. "But I told him I already had a date at the Fens...