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A new acerbity surfaced when Mr. Xi warned Chinese diplomats that they needed a “new fighting spirit” during a period that coincided with mass protests in Hong Kong against the Communist Party’s rule.

The Academy Awards for the movies of 1988 were awash in bluntness, cruelty and acerbity.

Pete, played with microscopic gradations of acerbity and unease by the wonderful Toby Jones, has spent years staying out of the world’s way, stitching himself a small cloak of invisibility.

With humor and a touch of good-natured acerbity, the two converse and even argue over the finer points of their craft.

Yet she somehow manages to balance her acerbity with an essential sweetness — a refreshing quality in this era of internet snark.