Mr. O'Brien takes on the most intractable conflicts, puncturing fashionable views with pungent comments that sometimes make his fellow liberals uncomfortable.

There are a number of pungent comments about the justice system, such as when a juror is discovered to be a "UFO nut" and is dismissed from the jury.

Some of the performers offer pungent personal comments.

It was one thing for them to exchange a few verbal ripostes, to tease one another, and to make pungent comments about other people.

(Its one pungent comment on the subject comes in the form of a running gag about an unemployed actor, amusingly done by Michael Mandell.)

Mr. Fernandez also makes some pungent comments about Gov. Mario M. Cuomo, Mayor David N. Dinkins and other political officials as well as members of the Board of Education.

Dyan had some pungent comments to make on the subject, but Mikhail put it down to the well-known eccentricity of the Elhalyns.

Mr. Collier has a good ear for the pungent comment, whatever its source may be.

There's also a rather pungent comment on orders to assist Andy merchies-which suggests an effort at diplomatic spin control in the event their activities get blown-and a reference to a Citizen Admiral Giscard.

In a characteristically pungent comment, he noted that