effect; efficacy; validity; potency
mobilization; mobilisation
influence; clout; leverage
exclusion; removal; rejection; elimination; abatement; lifting (sanctions, etc.)
demotion; relegation; downgrading
personnel affairs; human affairs; human resources; HR
last resort; desperate measure taken under pressure of necessity
pardon; forgiveness; forbearance
to put on airs; to assume importance
superiors; big shots; higher-ups; VIPs; dignitaries
government; administration
at any rate; anyhow; anyway; in any case; because
to hunt up; to locate; to inquire out
ordinary; sensible; commonplace
inquiry; enquiry; query; reference
story; topic (on everyone's lips); (the stuff of) legend
to dig your own grave; to bring calamity upon oneself; to put your foot in it
extraordinary; special; exceptional; non-standard grammatical construction; ungrammatical usage; solecism
to take on a role; to take part
more; much more; step; rung; paragraph; passage
(suffer) deterioration; growing worse; aggravation; degeneration; corruption
to underrate; to make light of
from the beginning; without hesitation; flatly (e.g. refusing); entirely; completely
at the very beginning; first of all; first and foremost; before anything else
detention pending trial; confinement; custody
to graze (e.g. bullet); to scratch; to touch lightly; to take a percentage; to exploit; to squeeze
if you think about it; come to think of it
before or since; neither before nor after; no other time in one's life; stressing a particular moment or event as being unique or most extreme
release (from custody); discharge; liberation; setting free; letting go; letting off
to screw up; to put the screws on (a person); to constrict (someone, something)
to tease; to make fun of; to ridicule; to mock; to play with (e.g. a toy); to fiddle with
police investigator; investigator
existence; being; survival; to exist; to live; to survive
slowly; tardily; complaining; grumbling; unsettled (e.g. weather); loose
(not) a single person; (no) one
internal organ; viscera; gut
to be boiled; to be cooked
one by one; in detail; minutely
to do together; to share; to participate in
fool; nitwit; The Fool (Tarot card)
to go away; to become more distant; to fade away; to be estranged
escape; flight; running away; elopement; fleeing