pertness

There’s plenty of humor along the way, courtesy of the hypochondriacal angst of Fankhauser’s Mann and the wisecracking pertness of Gulsvig’s Weil.

Ms. Worsham, with her bright soprano, matches him note for note, her girlish pertness persuading us that this naïve young woman would fall so hard so fast.

So even in 1605, Camden identified a woman's desire to retain her own name on marriage with "ambition", "pertness" and "forwardness".

Even now she could only call him Philip when the importance of the remark was enough to hide what still seemed an unpardonable kind of pertness.

She could have dealt with Walker, but glib pertness would not avail when this tall stranger's eyes were piercing her very soul.