An aura of self-confidence surrounds her, tempered slightly by a tendency to bite her lower lip.
Porte's vibrant mood, however, is tempered slightly when asked about that climb on this year's Tour de France.
Portland had a win on the road last weekend, an achievement tempered slightly by it being in Montreal, where the Impact just can't seem to gain any traction.
The Posies hold on to the ebullience of power pop, tempered slightly by their years on the circuit; the Pernice Brothers offer lapidary introspection.
Beckham's disappointment at being denied a fourth appearance at the World Cup finals by an achilles injury will be tempered slightly by the offer that was made by senior members of Capello's staff.
Particularly considering my performance at the Four Seasons that evening, it's perfectly possible that some people asked to sum up my knowledge of and attitude toward wine might respond "ignorance, tempered slightly by philistinism".
His moment was tempered slightly by the knowledge that his brother Sam had just missed out on a medal, finishing fourth behind Wang Jiachao of China and Maurice Deelen of the Netherlands.
That spirit could also be heard, though tempered slightly by more updated chromaticism, in two vocal settings of Melville texts from 1950, performed by Haleh Abghari, a soprano, and Idith Meshulam, a pianist.
His self-described attitude to wine is one of "ignorance, tempered slightly by philistinism," and his culinary heroes are notable less for subtlety of palate than for intensity of passion.
My feeling of failure is tempered slightly when I later find out that the three-time London marathon winner, Martin Lel, finished the race in 33rd position, and the reigning 1500m Olympic champion, Asbel Kiprop, like me, dropped out.
Particularly considering my performance at the Four Seasons that evening, it's perfectly possible that some people asked to sum up my knowledge of and attitude toward wine might respond "ignorance, tempered slightly by philistinism". On the other hand, I have, in a manner of speaking, worked in the wine industry for a number of years.
