middle of summer; height of summer; midsummer
cruel; brutal; ruthless; merciless; inhuman
gradually; steadily; slowly; little by little; step by step; by degrees
time of death; one's final hour; one's end
moment by moment; hour by hour
death; decease; (arch.) death penalty (by strangulation or decapitation); (an) out
to compare; to make a comparison; to compete; to vie
shaku (unit of distance approximately equal to 30.3 cm); rule; measure; length
quizzical; puzzled; inquisitive; suspicious; doubtful
end of life; death; annihilation
simultaneous; concurrent; same time; synchronous; together
to rise; to swell; to be promoted
to tie; to restrain; to confine; to bind; to fasten
is that so? (generally rhetorical)
to think of; to come up with
to suffer; to groan; to be worried
to writhe (in pain); to be in agony; to be anguished; to be agonized; to be troubled
true; real; genuine; proper; utter
to think out; to devise; to invent; to begin to think; to come up with a plan
reserve; spare; preparation; preliminaries
tragic death; violent death
way to die; means of dying; quality of one's death
tenacity; persistence; obsession; implacability
the front; honesty; uprightness; decency; normality
review (of learned material); revision
anything and everything; just about everything
head; lead; vanguard; first
for now; for the time being; for the present; though not quite satisfactorily; after a fashion
(in) the middle of; (in) the midst of; (in) the course of; (at) the height of
to visit; to call on; to arrive (season, time, situation, etc.); to come; (arch.) to make a sound; (arch.) to send a letter
next (year, spring, etc.); coming; since (last month, etc.); for (20 years, etc.)
to chant (repeat) the name of Buddha
to go through; to pass through; to get through; to cut across
splendid; fine; praiseworthy; creditable; legal; legitimate
golden and shiny; gaudy; gaudily decorated; brand spanking new; new and shiny
enshrinement; installation (of an image)