coax

He coaxed a devastatingly chilly turn from Mary Tyler Moore, drew quiet strength from Donald Sutherland and guided Timothy Hutton to an Oscar-winning breakthrough.

And, of course, “Brown food tastes good” reminded you that color signals flavor, that the hiss and smell of fond in a pan promised richness waiting to be coaxed into a sauce.

Then something subtle but definitive occurs as Chris rises off his couch: a man and a woman lean in and nuzzle his neck, coaxing both a shiver and a smile out of him.

Within minutes, he’d coaxed it back to life, the coils glowing faintly, the faint metallic tang of dust burning off as he wiped away that unmistakable film of neglect.

At a Mississippi water company three years prior, Hunter’s co-workers coaxed him into a pickup basketball game.