“If he doesn’t like the way his bridge partner plays out a hand, for example, he might say, “You played that like a plumber,” but if he wants to offer serious counsel to one of his children, he is more likely to couch the message in an anecdote, preferably delivered in a group setting so that no one is singled out. In both instances, he appears blunt and avuncular—that inimitable Charlie—but at the card table, he uses a lack of indirection for harmless ribbing, and at the dinner table, he uses indirection to spare feelings. He’s more subtle than he appears.”