Piqued. Lessee, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Edward_Housman ... colleagues were unnerved by his scathing critical attacks ... they "were often savage in the extreme."
Also, for other reasons: A fellow don described him as being "descended from a long line of maiden aunts".
Apparently, after he died, they found notebooks in his office that he had filled with long elaborate, witty, hurtful insults -- aimed at nobody in particular. When he wrote a review, he would tweak the pre-fab insults as needed and voila. A sick, twisted person, but fascinating. (If you're really curious, check out Tom Stoppard's The Invention of Love.)
It's curious that the A.E.H. vinegar does not get wider circulation. My copy of Matthew Parris' Scorn only features a couple of harmless barbs (one the 'malt/Milton' line). There are some scraps over at http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alfred_Edward_Housman , and here http://www.lrb.co.uk/v29/n13/frank-kermode/nothing-for-ever-...
(Also, a passing appreciation by Chesterton, a guide I trust, here http://wikilivres.info/wiki/Autobiography_%28Chesterton%29/C...)
The name was left blank in the original, but was intended to be filled in and used when a suitable subject should turn up.