caustic

The policy “represents one of the most caustic, corrosive and chilling efforts to squelch the voice of this commission, the office of inspector general and the Sybil Brand Commission,” Johnson said.

“I’ve got to look at the results,” Hutson said, “and despite his caustic attitude and behavior, I think he’s done a really, really good job.”

The Company rakes her over the coals, demotes her, and doesn’t believe her report about an alien creature that has a razor-sharp tail, knife-like teeth and highly caustic acid for blood.

But it’s not just time and distance that have made Marnie’s selfishness feel less caustic; it’s the fact that she was merely Dunham’s conduit to track where culture was headed.

With Franzen-esque fastidiousness, Choi unpacks each character’s backstory, exposing vanities and delusions in a cool, caustic voice, a 21st century Émile Zola.