Shirley Castle tried to make conversation but soon stopped after his terse and jumbled responses.

But to receive that terse response, and the earlier one, is beyond bearing.

Defendants are instructed to offer terse responses to narrowly drawn questions.

"It could have," replied the 76-year-old witness, who gave terse responses in a gruff voice.

As expected, he was rebuffed time and again with the same terse response: "Paul was not interested in doing television, period."

Duirdry listened, made a terse response, turned about and rode back into the fortress.

Miffed by the terse response, she reached for her shirt.

Yesterday, he answered most questions with uncharacteristically terse responses, especially a question about why there had been no thorough investigation earlier by any city agency.

"They made themselves indispensable," was the terse response.

Today it is still his first line of defense, the steely gaze, the tight smile, the terse responses.