tS=Even at her looniest, Eliza makes <b>mordant</b> sense.<br><br>A series of letters to be auctioned by Sotheby's offer an unexpected portrait of the author as a young man: short of cash, essaying his first marriage, and delighting in his particular brand of <b>mordant</b> wit.&tQ=<b>Mordant</b> means:&tC=Bleak|Biting|Practical|Precarious|Earthy&cC=2&fB=<b>Mordant</b> means biting; cutting; sarcastic. <b>Mordant</b> is pronounced MOHR-dunt.
