The language of American officials, such as Hillary Clinton, the secretary of state, has become sharper.
His game has become sharper and more disciplined, his demeanor more steady.
Nobody I've ever met has become sharper or more interesting when they're stoned.
Even Turkey, long reluctant to criticize its southern neighbor, has become sharper in its condemnations, testing the friendship that Mr. Assad has built with its prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The law also bans civil servants from joining parties, along with monks, who led anti-government protests in 2007.The dilemma the opposition faces has become sharper.
And as the race has tightened and rivals have surged past him, Mr. Lieberman's speech has become sharper, more focused on President Bush.
If his deadpan wit is any measure of a man who is 6 feet 6 inches, Martin has become sharper and more seasoned with age.
By his own account, Mr. Kerry's campaign message -- which even some supporters described as toothless and themeless back when the fight seemed simpler -- has become sharper, more focused and more compact.
Summing up, the divide within Europe and between a part of Western Europe (plus Japan and Korea?) and the rest of the OECD universe has become sharper.
The language used by U.S. and Russian officials has become sharper in the past 24 hours, highlighting the increasingly fraught geopolitical battle that is under way between East and West which is reminiscent of the Cold war.
