Before the scandal broke, Woods could be evasive and monosyllabic when facing the media.

BBC: Tiger Woods targeting fifth Masters victory at Augusta

As for Karl Urban, he was everything Dredd should be: tough, monosyllabic, inflexible.

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One selling point that any parent of a monosyllabic teenager will appreciate is the amount of information they will receive.

ECONOMIST: Private education

It would be hard to find a bigger contrast with the gung-ho, monosyllabic culture that turned RBS into an acquisition machine.

ECONOMIST: Face value

Their appearance at the Macpherson inquiry last year was much the same, with each responding to questions from lawyers with monosyllabic answers.

BBC: In the spotlight