over-subtle

adjective, sub·tler, sub·tlest.

thin, tenuous, or rarefied, as a fluid or an odor.

fine or delicate in meaning or intent; difficult to perceive or understand: subtle irony.

delicate or faint and mysterious: a subtle smile.

requiring mental acuteness, penetration, or discernment: a subtle philosophy.

characterized by mental acuteness or penetration: a subtle understanding.

cunning, wily, or crafty: a subtle liar.

insidious in operation: subtle poison.

skillful, clever, or ingenious: a subtle painter.

Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English sotil < Old French < Latin subtīlis subtile (b of modern spelling < L)

Related forms

sub·tle·ness, noun

sub·tly, adverb

hy·per·sub·tle, adjective

hy·per·sub·tle·ness, noun

non·sub·tle, adjective

non·sub·tle·ness, noun

non·sub·t·ly, adverb

o·ver·sub·tle, adjective

o·ver·sub·tly, adverb

pseu·do·sub·tle, adjective

pseu·do·sub·t·ly, adverb

un·sub·tle, adjective

un·sub·tle·ness, noun

un·sub·t·ly, adverb

Synonyms
6. sly, tricky, foxy, slick.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To over-subtle

00:10

Over-subtle is always a great word to know.

So is interrobang. Does it mean:

a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.

a fool or simpleton; ninny.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

subtle (ˈsʌt^əl)

—*adj*
1.	not immediately obvious or comprehensible
2.	difficult to detect or analyse, often through being delicate or highly refined: a subtle scent
3.	showing or making or capable of showing or making fine distinctions of meaning
4.	marked by or requiring mental acuteness or ingenuity; discriminating
5.	delicate or faint: a subtle shade
6.	cunning or wily: a subtle rogue
7.	operating or executed in secret: a subtle intrigue

[C14: from Old French soutil, from Latin subtīlis finely woven]

'subtleness

—n

'subtly

—*adv*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

subtle

c.1300, sutel, soutil, in ref. to things, "of thin consistency;" in ref. to craftsmen, "skilled, clever," from O.Fr. soutil, from L. subtilis "fine, thin, delicate, finely woven," from sub "under" + -tilis, from tela "web" and texere "to weave" (see texture). The spelling

with -b- reflects confusion with subtile. Most non-material senses were present by late 14c.

Matching Quote

"At length I entered within the skirts of the cloud which seemed forever drifting over the summit, and yet would never be gone.... It reminded me of the creations of the old epic and dramatic poets, of Atlas, Vulcan, the Cyclops, and Prometheus. Such was Caucasus and the rock where Prometheus was bound. Ãâ schylus had no doubt visited such scenery as this. It was vast, Titanic, and such as man never inhabits. Some part of the beholder, even some vital part, seems to escape through the loose grating of his ribs as he ascends. He is more lone than you can imagine. There is less of substantial thought and fair understanding in him than in the plains where men inhabit. His reason is dispersed and shadowy, more thin and subtle, like the air. Vast, Titanic, inhuman Nature has got him at disadvantage, caught him alone, and pilfers him of some of his divine faculty. She does not smile on him as in the plains. She seems to say sternly, Why came ye here before your time? This ground is not prepared for you. Is it not enough that I smile in the valleys?"

-Henry David Thoreau

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