Jefferson Morley filed a piquant report from the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee dinner the other night honoring Helen Thomas and characterized former S. Dakota Senator James Abourezk as “pungent.” Abourezk and Morley allowed us to publish their correspondence over the adjective:
Mr. Morley:
What do you mean by pungent? Which definition applies to me? “Smelly,” “or sharp and biting?”
You could have been more accurate to describe me as “fat,” or “balding,” or “old and crippled,” but “pungent?”
James Abourezk
Dear Senator,
Pungent as in “sharp and biting,” as in “politically candid.”
No other meaning intended or implied, sir. As for those other adjectives, I am too acquainted with the mirror to utter in public.
best regards,
Jefferson Morley
