Sentence:  About all that remains to be said is that the present selection , most of which appeared first in The New Yorker , comprises ( as usual ) a slightly unstrung necklace , <WSD>held</WSD> together by little more than a slender thread cunningly inserted in the spine of the book . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  keep in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., "keep clean"