hard-to-overcome obstacle; high hurdle; (lit.) thick wall
kneading; gloss; paste (e.g. bean paste, mustard paste); parading of portable shrines and floats at festivals
symbolism (19th-century artistic movement)
and then; in addition to that; also; even so
form (as opposed to substance); format; form; formality; form; mode
speaking by proxy; speaking for (someone else); payment by proxy; compensation by proxy; acting for (someone else); carrying out (on someone's behalf)
woman; girl; Chinese "Girl" constellation (one of the 28 mansions); feminine noun
to perceive; to sense; to take in; to grasp; to feel
vegetables pickled in sake lees
antiquity; ancient times; bygone days; former times
to knead; to thicken into a paste (stirring over a flame); to polish (a plan, etc.); to refine; to train; to drill; to gloss (silk)
boo! (sound used to scare someone); ugh (dissatisfaction, aggravation); ulp (consternation)
to keep watching; to continue looking at; to gaze at
to dam up; to hold back; to keep back; to stem (an activity); to check (e.g. progress)
pretext; history; past; according to ...; ... says
suppression; prohibition; ban
unnatural; affected; studied; forced
to succeed; to bear fruit
(study of) psychoanalysis
well-versed (in); profoundly knowledgeable (about); high in the attainment (of)
(something) so small; so little; trifling
state of mind; mentality; psychology
bending; winding; meandering; ups and downs; twists and turns; complications
even though it is not; despite not
to become ...-ish; to appear like ...; to have a touch of ...; to become stained with ...; to become steeped with ...; to become smeared with ...
to soak (into); to permeate; to sting (of a wound, sensitive area, etc.); to smart; to be infected (e.g. with vice); to be steeped (e.g. with prejudice)
to act (a part); to play (a role); to perform (a play, etc.); to put on (a production); to commit (e.g. a blunder); to disgrace oneself
secret; private; surreptitious
dam; weir; barrier; sluice
group (of people, competitors, companies, etc.); contingent; camp; team
to smack one's lips (over a dish); to eat with relish
fleeting; transient; short-lived; empty (dream, etc.); mere (hope); faint (possibility)
one's own expense; out-of-pocket expense
patron (of the arts, an artist, etc.); patroness; sugar daddy; man who provides for a woman (e.g. a geisha); patron; master
(political) power; authority; influence
operation; management; handling; manipulating (to one's benefit); manipulation; influencing
to try (out); to have a try (at); to test; to put to the test
marriage proposal; courtship