Sentence:  I am, you will agree, mature, and in my earlier days I won no little praise for my skill at hunt-the-slipper. I remember one of the hostesses whose Christmas parties I attended comparing me to a juvenile bloodhound. An extravagant <WSD>encomium</WSD>, of course, but that is what she said. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Warm praise, especially a formal expression of such praise; a tribute.