Sentence:  The younger literary generation has come on the run because it's cold out there. The sobriety, and lack of <WSD>coltishness</WSD>, constitute their qualifications for reporting fashions or sports; or teaching “Creative Writing” on another campus. They bespeak a readiness to be cowed in return for a stall in the Establishment barn; at whatever cost in originality. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  The quality of being lively, playful and undisciplined.