His gruffness and brevity disturbed me more than I cared to confess.

To prove this he wilfully exaggerated his gruffness and curtness of manner.

So tell me again, I said, attempting to simulate Dad's gruffness.

He began to show a gruffness that she'd never seen in Sir Borenson.

The almost passionate tenderness and humanity which lay beneath his gruffness was undimmed.

The warder rose to his feet and resumed his official gruffness.

A Northumberland Fusilier exploded into words which expressed the gruffness of his comrades.

The rough harbor-master changed his gruffness to smiles in an instant.

She attributed his sudden gruffness to a distaste for hearing his exploits lauded.

And Monnica, utterly confused by such praise, answered with affectionate gruffness:

Robert is adrift, his gruffness a self-conscious front for frustration and zero self-esteem.

Their deportment was quiet and altogether unexceptionable,-norudeness, no gruffness, nothing of menace.

But Major Monkey did not let Mr. Crow's gruffness trouble him.

He did not suspect that the unconscious gruffness of his tone had repulsed her.

Miss Howard blinked, and a new note crept into the gruffness of her voice.

He was sorry for his gruffness, and took her hands: