cloth; fabric; dough; batter; inherent quality; one's true character; unglazed pottery
made-to-order; custom-made
to tailor; to make (clothing); to train; to bring up; to make it seem like; to pass off
to have a terrible time; to have a hard time
as you see; as you can see
to be ...-ing; to have been ...-ing
gentlemen; men; the men's (sign on toilet, bathroom, etc. doors)
yeah, yeah; whatever; yes; sure; hello; giddy-up
any more; any further; any better; any longer
sleeping like a log; (being) fast asleep (bombed, crashed)
soundly (sleeping); fast (asleep)
playing at (something); game of make-believe; something done together
direction; way; person; lady; method of; manner of; care of ...
childcare leave; leave taken after the compulsory maternity leave
to close (at a certain point); to cut short; to round up (number); to revalue (currency)
one's post; place of work; workplace
business trip; official trip
tenth day of the month; ten days
to neglect; to leave undone; to lay aside
rather; sooner; preferably
to arrive at (e.g. a decision); to reach (a stage); to lead to (a place); to get to; in the extreme case of; (arch.) to come
cannot (due to external circumstances); cannot afford to; must not; impossible to; no way one can (do)
challenge; defiance; dare; attempt; try
office worker; company employee; company man; salaryman (stereotypical Japanese office worker)
first of all; at once; right away; for now; for the time being
salaried; with pay; vacation; (paid) holiday
or rather (say); or better (say); or perhaps I should say; or, how should I put it; I mean
to lend; to loan; to rent out; to hire out
lovely; wonderful; nice; great; fantastic; superb
special training; intensive training; crash course
indicates two contrasting actions; (arch.) indicates possessive (often found in place names and compound words)
failure; mistake; blunder
continuation; succession; series
before one knows; before one becomes aware of; unnoticed; unawares
top; summit; twelve o'clock (usu. midnight); top of one's head; top of a helmet
to ascend; to go up; to ascend (as a natural process, e.g. the Sun); to rise; to go to (the capital); to be promoted; to add up to
a long time ago; quickly; swiftly
that's true; of course; obviously
holy mother; birth mother of a holy man (or woman); Virgin Mary