comical (story, song); comic; the comedy business (rakugo, manzai, etc.); something laughable
(weather) front; front line; forward area; action zone
closing up shop (for the day); stopping business; going out of business
with a clatter; with a rattle; empty; bare; raspy (voice); gravelly; with a gargle
to descend (e.g. a mountain); to go down; to alight (e.g. from bus); to get off; to step down; to retire; to be granted
hill; height; knoll; rising ground
understood; I see; OK; present; here
(I) will; (I) shall; let's; (I) wonder (if); might it be (that); hey
to bury (e.g. in the ground); to fill up (e.g. audience fills a hall); to cause to be packed; to plug (a gap); to stop (a gap); to make up for (a loss, shortage, etc.); to make amends
one-by-one; separately; in detail
to hug someone close; to hold someone tight; to embrace closely
to be too late; to be too slow
to pass (time); to spend; to overdo (esp. of one's alcohol consumption); to drink (alcohol); (arch.) to take care of; (arch.) to support
anyone; anybody; everyone; whoever
(treating) equally; without discrimination; impartially; alike; in the same way
only; merely; but; no more than
to pile up; to accumulate
ditch; drain; groove; tread; gap (between people, countries, etc.); gulf
match; game; bout; contest
to apply for; to make an application; to propose (marriage); to offer (mediation); to make an overture (of peace); to challenge
to catch up (with); to draw level; to pull even; to be compensated; to make up for one's losses
black and white; monochrome; good and evil; right and wrong; guilt and innocence
in various ways; in all sorts of ways; at every opportunity; whenever there is a chance
to compete (with each other); to contend for; to vie for; to rival
floor; stage (for the narrator and the shamisen player); dining platform built across a river
it cannot be helped; there's nothing for it; it's no use fighting back; it's hopeless; there is no way out of it
proposal; proposition; suggestion
to trample underfoot; to tread on; to crush with a foot
to cut apart (cloth, paper, etc.); to sever (ties); to break off (relationship); to cut off (enemy's retreat); to block (road, etc.)
remnant; residue; remaining; left-over
to come alive; to get going; to start to move
three-game match; three-bout contest; a rubber (in a card game)
substance; essence; real (in economics, vs. nominal, e.g. real interest rate); substantive; substantial
elimination; erasure; clearing; elimination (of variables)
romance (e.g. Arthurian romances); heroic tale; (nigh) impossible dream; adventurous spirit; (full-length) novel; romance