So … is her pleasantness like the varnish over the hard cynicism oak veneer, and then there’s an (unstated) softer emotional core that’s akin to the plywood? Or is the hard shell of cynicism like the soft plywood, and the pleasantness is hard like the oak veneer?
OR WHAT!?!
Seems like a tough gal trying to sound like a tough guy. Raymond Chandler’s similes could be tortuous as well.
i think she probably means “hard _core_ of cynicism”
That would make more sense. Still, plywood is softer than oak, so it still doesn’t quite work.