Atvar wondered if that was polite, oblique criticism.

'Is that an oblique criticism?'

Over all, her testimony seemed to steer a careful course between overt praise and oblique criticism of the Giuliani administration's legacies on welfare.

Kirk was in too good a mood to allow Spock's oblique criticism to rankle him.

He also suggested that there might be a foreign hand behind the incident, an oblique criticism of the strong American backing for Mr. Karzai.

In its June 4 Edition, the People's Daily made a series of editorial decisions which the government later condemned as oblique criticism of the crackdown.

The oblique criticism by Justice Marshall, the first and only black to sit on the Court, was uncommon for a sitting Justice.

Those votes implied at least an oblique criticism of the logging law.

They could easily be construed as an oblique criticism of the entire war against Manticore, and that was dangerous.

Flattery and innuendo, oblique criticisms and these nasty little barbs stuck in all the boy's self doubts-I've watched him at work.