acerbicadj.

1853 G. W. M. Reynolds Mysteries of Court of London V. 366/2 ‘Ah! you were something like myself in those times, my lord,’ said Marston bitterly; ‘too fond of the gaming-table!’ ‘And Lady Petersfield!’ continued the nobleman, not heeding the Baronet's acerbic interjection.

1865 N. Brit. Daily Mail 4 Dec. 2/3 Exaggerated notions are entertained now-a-days regarding the gloomy acerbic nature of Sabbath observance among the ancient Jews.

a1898 W. C. Brann Wks. (1919) X. 29 As a historian Puck is about as reliable as Mark Twain's acerbic old sea captain.

1949 Jrnl. Southern Hist. 15 336 Despite wistful demands for a toning down of bitter partisanship, a more acerbic note was to be heard in many a critic's judgments of his fellow writers.

1976 Economist 13 Mar. 33 As defeat in Florida came closer,..his speeches grew less polite and more acerbic.

1990 Friends of Wine Spring 31/2 Destemming prior to crushing impedes the development of any acerbic or ‘stalky’ flavors.

1997 Manch. Guardian Weekly (Nexis) 14 Sept. 9 Jeffrey Bernard, the Spectator columnist who became a legend in his own lunchtime for his Soho drinking habits, dissolute life and acerbic wit.

2003 S. Brown Free Gift Inside! 229 According to the acerbic stand-up comedian George Carlin, contemporary American society suffers from a debilitating disease called ‘yestermania’.

1934 L. Mumford Technics & Civilization vi. 301 The machine, which acerbically denied the flesh, was offset by the flesh, which denied the rational, the intelligent, the orderly processes of behavior.

1973 Times Lit. Suppl. 30 Mar. 340/1 An uproariously funny, but at the same time acerbically satirical farce about South African life.

2002 NFT Programme Booklet Mar. 21/2 Cinematically, the least of Olivier's three Shakespeares, but it does preserve his acerbically powerful Dick Crookback for the generations.