Some 16th-century Italian clergymen tried to ban coffee because they believed it to be “satanic.” However, Pope Clement VII loved coffee so much that he lifted the ban and had coffee baptized in 1600.
SUBTLY
subtly
(adverb) in a subtle manner; “late nineteenth-century French opera at its most beautiful, subtly romantic with a twilight melancholy”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Adverb
subtly (comparative more subtly, superlative most subtly)
With subtleness, in a subtle manner; with cleverness rather than brute force.
Anagrams
• bustly, butyls
Source: Wiktionary
Sub"tly, adv.
Definition: In a subtle manner; slyly; artfully; cunningly. Thou seest how subtly to detain thee I devise. Milton.
2. Nicely; delicately. In the nice bee what sense so subtly true. Pope. Subtly communicating itself to my sensibilities, but evading the analysis of my mind. Hawthorne.
3. Deceitfully; delusively. [Obs.] Shak.
SUBTLE
Sub"tle, a. [Compar. Subtler; superl. Subtlest.] Etym: [OE. sotil, subtil, OF. soutil, later subtil, F. subtil, L. subtilis; probably, originally, woven fine, and fr. sub under + tela a web, fr. texere to weave. See Text, and cf. Subtile.]
1. Sly in design; artful; cunning; insinuating; subtile; -- applied to persons; as, a subtle foe. "A subtle traitor." Shak.
2. Cunningly devised; crafty; treacherous; as, a subtle stratagem.
3. Characterized by refinement and niceness in drawing distinctions; nicely discriminating; -- said of persons; as, a subtle logician; refined; tenuous; sinuous; insinuating; hence, penetrative or pervasive; -- said of the mind; its faculties, or its operations; as, a subtle intellect; a subtle imagination; a subtle process of thought; also, difficult of apprehension; elusive. Things remote from use, obscure and subtle. Milton.
4. Smooth and deceptive. [Obs.] Like to a bowl upon a subtle ground [bowling ground]. Shak.
Syn.
– Artful; crafty; cunning; shrewd; sly; wily. Subtle is the most comprehensive of these epithets and implies the finest intellectual quality. See Shrewd, and Cunning.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
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7 May 2025
RUNNER
(noun) a person who is employed to deliver messages or documents; “he sent a runner over with the contract”
Coffee Trivia
