skewer

skewer

n.

: a long piece of wood or metal used for holding pieces of food, typically meat, together during cooking

v.

: fasten together or pierce with a pin or skewer

They nibbled chunks of Cheddar cheese skewered with toothpicks.

: informal: criticize (someone) sharply

ardent

ardent

adj.

: enthusiastic or passionate

an ardent baseball fan

compendious

compendious

adj.

: presenting the essential facts of something in a comprenhensive but concise way

innocuous

adj.

: not harmful or offensive

It was an innocuous question.

Both mushrooms look innocuous but are in fact deadly.

scruple

n.

: (usually scruples) a feeling of doubt or hesitation with regard to the morality or propriety of a course of action

I had no scruples about eavesdropping.

Without scruple, these politicians use fear as a persuasion weapon.

beside the point

irrelevant

uptight

adj.

: informal: anxious or angry in a tense and overly controlled way

Don't get so uptight about everything.