terse, brusque, sarcastic, snippy, polite, dismissive, cryptic, frostily, monosyllabic, unquotable, jocular, gruffly, unforthcoming, snide, apologetic, snappish, flippant, rude, effusive, chatty, condescending, perfunctory, pithy, glib, impertinent, placatory, businesslike, surly, accusatory, defiant, laconic, petulant, truculent, quizzical, tetchily, testy, obsequious, churlishly, verbose, tactful, undiplomatic, scolding, conciliatory, brusk, evasive, huffy, contemptuous, disdainful, genial, deadpan, prefacing, succinct, ungrammatical, cordial, cheery, forthright, mumbled, salutation, scornful, rueful, officious, stammered, sheepish, schoolmasterly, confrontational, gracious, reservedly, snotty, replies, prolix, rambling, exasperated, muttered, monosyllables, longwinded, reproachful, unhesitating, offhand, impolite, affably, icily, nonchalant, indignantly, jovial, gnomic, contrite, disobliging, delphic, downcast, gushy, pugnacious, prickly, unsmiling, sycophantic, condemnatory, unrevealing, standoffish, sarky, snarky, ripostes, talkative, derisive, beaux, blizzard, consorts, crop, deviltry, extras, fives, huff, knocks, quartet, quartette, quintet, retainer, rick, royalties, theatricals, trio, abatements, accompanist, acolytes, peremptory, noncommittal, committal, courteous, deprecatory, emphatic, enigmatical, gruff

brush-off, curtly, short, shortly

concise, crisp, discourteous