"eminence grise" :a person who wields power or exerts influence behind the scenes.

This sounds like Jonathan Ross, now a broken man... Word of the Day is great - my vocabulary is expanding exponentially!

Here are a few more good ones:

adduce: to offer as a reason in support of an argument; bring up as an example; give as proof or evidence; cite

frowzy: 1. dirty and untidy; slovenly 2. smelling bad; musty

horripilation: the act or process of the hair bristling on the skin, as from cold or fear; goose flesh

aquiline: 1. curved like an eagle's beak 2. of or like an eagle

bivouac: 1. An encampment for the night, usually under little or no shelter. 2. To encamp for the night, usually under little or no shelter

gloaming: Twilight; dusk.