"To cut and run," he said, sounding slightly defensive.

Right now, though, he has taken a slightly defensive posture, with a duration of slightly more than four years in his portfolio.

Is it my imagination or does he look slightly defensive?

"Well, my physique isn't what it was in the old pictures," Veronica says, slightly defensive.

However, a slightly defensive position is not only acceptable when riding over solid obstacles, but in most cases ideal.

"David is intentionally less visible than Christie," he says, seeming slightly defensive.

Janeway took on a slightly defensive posture, as if she were uneasy about whatever topic he might raise next.

We have also given him a more attacking role, as opposed to a slightly defensive one earlier.

I've simply got to solve the mystery, if it has a solution,' he added, with a slightly defensive air.

The world has changed since Feather wrote those slightly defensive words.