When accused this summer of abandoning that goal, Mr. Levine told critics to wait until they saw the new contract.

He told critics that his usual practice with triptychs was to begin with the left panel and work across.

Go there to get the law changed, he told critics.

Now he tells critics, "Ours is a small circle, and the park is for everybody."

Burnett has told critics that he makes films that deal with emotions coming out of real problems like maturity and self-identity.

Mr. Katz responded to the angry attacks by telling critics it would increase property values.

Members of the board told critics that they had considered their objections but that their hands were tied by interstate commerce rules.

Kayanja told critics to mind their own business, saying that the grand house was a marriage gift to his wife.

Mr. Bell told critics that, if they did not like his categories, they should come up with better ones.

The arms race, Mr. Gorbachev told critics in Minsk last week, had "exhausted our economy."