"They were formal showcases for their owners to display wealth, sophistication and taste.
Movies that make political points are often contrasted — by critics and filmmakers alike — with those that display aesthetic sophistication.
The French put a rather charmless emphasis on charm, are consciously or unconsciously persuaded that it is either part of a display of sophistication or — and it may amount to the same thing — a tool in the service of seduction.
This haunted Felix and those of us working on the Oz defence team detected a class bias: Felix was assertive, but did not then display the sophistication of Richard and Jim, posh Australians with a university education.
The same Communist leaders who display their sophistication at international gatherings keep incarcerated a small boy whose only crime is that it was the Dalai Lama who was first to declare him the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama, the second most-revered figure in Tibetan Buddhism.
Her displays of sophistication seemed childish, and he was unmoved by the skinny brown stomach flashing at him so insistently from above the sarong.
This was CBS at its best: Jim Nantz and the corps of analysts displayed their sophistication (and the range of accents and styles made them easy to distinguish), shots were shown at a rapid pace (with constant reminders that some were on tape) and the drama of David Toms's victory over Phil Mickelson was reported but not milked.
The rally, at a huge convention center just northeast of Paris, was a well-designed display of political sophistication suitable for television.
When movie and television stars decide to dip their toes into the world of cabaret, it would be foolish to expect them to display the musical sophistication and expertise of seasoned nightclub performers.
An early book, The Changing American Voter, used statistical analysis to display a growing sophistication and tolerance among the electorate.
Indeed, these voters, many very poorly educated and even poorer economically, display a political sophistication and skepticism that is sorely lacking in American politics.
