Hone

hone



Y

D



–noun 

1. a whetstone (磨刀石) of fine, compact texture for sharpening razors and other cutting tools. 

2. a precision tool with a mechanically rotated abrasive tip, for enlarging holes to precise dimensions.  



–verb (used with object) 

3. to sharpen on a hone: to hone a [carving] knife. 

4. to enlarge or finish (a hole) with a hone.  



5. to make more acute 

or 

effective; improve; perfect: to hone one's [skills]. 





　

Two decades in Tinseltown, with prolonged exposure [to] the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Douglas, and Joe Eszterhas surely honed Verhoeven's [perversity]. 





scabrous 

1. rough, scaly, prickly, or pimply

2. dirty, indecent

Yet if "Clerks II" doesn't have quite the [scabrous] kick of its predecessor, 

cf. 

scabby, scabious (covered with scabs)



scathe

By the end, much has changed and no one is left [unscathed]. 

detritus

detriment 

falling off from an [original] condition 

Overeating is a detriment to [health]. 

So [at] what point do the efforts of a costumed [vigilante] [cease to] have an impact on the society he vows to protect - 

and when does his mere presence present a [detriment] to them when it's all said and done?

succinct   

[originally] composed and is expressed in as few words as possible

concise

unnecessary verbiage have been [eliminated]

terse

brevity with 1. polish or 2. brusqueness

a terse, almost [aphoristic], style.

a terse reply that was almost [rude].



scour shingle

brash 

bristle & brittle (vulnerable)

ruffle



scald 

to scald [milk]

coddle

to coddle [children] when they're sick.  

to coddle an [egg].  

mollycoddle

Noah Baumbach's [scalding] follow-up to The Squid and the Whale

When Freddy’s grossly [scalded] head once again rises out of the bathwater between a [nubile] girl’s legs, I guess Billy Bob would be a fine choice.



scour

ransack rummage

fumble bumble bungle botch 



cuddle

coo 

They all cooed over the [new baby].

huddle

curdle 

a [scream] that curdled the blood.  

 

chaff 

josh or tease mildly

So I [chaffed] them and I gaily [laughed]

chafe 

rub against, annoy

Her [collar] chafed her [neck].

The [dripping] of the faucet chafed her [nerves]



frazzle

but by her extravagant turn as a frazzl[ed] performance artist

tatter

dressed in [rags] and [tatters]

Lorenzo flees Spain as his [reputation] [lies in tatters]



fray (fight, wear)

Fray