WordWealth: demure

de·mure , adj., -mur·er, -mur·est.

The hint of compromise was in the air even as Mr. Bush spoke. During the day, diplomats in Washington and at the United Nations said they were talking with Bush aides about giving weapons inspectors a few more weeks to test whether a peaceful path to disarmament was possible in Iraq. It is an option that interests much of the world and many Americans, though the president seemed doubtful that it would yield anything.--Yet Mr. Bush demurred on discussing proposals for delay or deadlines in any detail. —— Partrick E. Tylor, A Reminder of a Mission; The New York Times; March 7, 2003

The excitement was the greater because constitutional, or quasi-constitutional, issues were intertwined to an almost Tudor degree with the personal and dynastic; indeed the wider significance is the more pressing because of the passions with which recent events have been fuelled. The public's primary interest is naturally enough directed at the private drama – acted out on the steps of St Paul's Cathedral or behind the net curtains of the brooding Spencer "blood family''. Arguably, the most significant word in the whole débâcle was appropriately double-barrelled: Paul Burrell told the monarch that he had taken effects from the dead Princess's home for "safe-keeping''. The monarch, notably, did not demure and Burrell's remark had sufficient impact on her that she remembered it five years later. —— Ben Pimlott; The Royal Family Must No Longer Expect the Rolls Royce Treatment; Ben is author of 'The Queen: Elizabeth II and The Monarchy' (HarperCollins) and Warden of Goldsmiths College; Independent; Nov 3, 2002

When I first asked courtiers about Masako, two years ago, they were still sorting out their thoughts. "I don't understand what reporters mean by 'active,'" said the grand master of the Crown Prince's household, Kiyoshi Furukawa. "She's very active. She already has a busy schedule. If we didn't refuse requests, she'd have no private time." Together with the Crown Prince, Masako visits old-age homes, attends sporting events for the disabled, greets foreign guests, and occasionally makes trips overseas. However, these are the same sorts of activities that Empress Michiko performed when she was the Crown Princess. Masako is seen as little more than a demure extension of her husband. Furukawa had no problem with that: "The main function of the Crown Princess is to support the Crown Prince." —— Gale Eisenstodt, 'Behind the Chrysanthemum Curtain'; The article describes how Japan's palace courtiers face big obstacles -- in the form of tradition, politics, and their own code of behavior -- as they struggle to create a modern role for the country's imperial family; The Atlantic, Nov 1998

Although hardly radical, the Corcoran's post-1960 selections come off as adventurous by comparison. Curator Susan Badder hung works by Saar and Walker in the same room, some 50 paces apart. Saar's demure mixed-media piece "Dat Ol' Black Magic" incorporates her aunt's antique scarf and an illustration of a black man probably pinched from product packaging or a magazine spread. (Note to Betye: Remember when you worked the ironic angle, too?) ——Jessica Dawson; 'Irony in Black Art: Brushing It On -- and Brushing It Aside'; Washington Post; Feb 27, 2003

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