The tone he employed set her teeth on edge.

The very tone of his voice, strident and demanding, set her teeth on edge.

Beginning with a jarring musical note set the tone for the day.

The statement that "deer in unprecedented numbers are making man's turf their own" set the tone for the article.

The hard, formal tone in her voice set my heart racing.

While a full year before the outbreak of war, the tone sets the stage for the eventual conflict.

This tone sets a high standard by which the Republican calendar might itself be judged.

But her judgmental tone of voice set his teeth on edge.

Rather sets the tone for the whole piece, for severed it most certainly is not.