1.   It makes perfect sense for Dole to adopt a sharper tone tomorrow night, because the campaign has reached the sharpening stage.

2.   Now, with polls showing a tight race just weeks before the election, his appearances are a bit less cheerful, his tone sharper.

3.   The film can claim a more highly developed sense of irony and a far sharper comic tone.

4.   He took the sharper tone in a TV interview.