passing each other; missing (meeting) each other; failing to meet; (being at) cross purposes; discrepancy
price; cost; charge; price (of achieving something); cost; sacrifice
abandoning (hope, plans); giving up
departure from a country; leaving a country
lesson; precept; teachings; moral
to tie up; to tie together; to hang (oneself); to summarize; to put (it all) together; to estimate; to expect
whether or not; presence or absence
everything turning out fine; the whole thing being settled
practical question; practical problem; practical matter
information transfer; information transmission
precipitous; rugged; inaccessible; grim; severe; stern
rule; established routine; standard operating procedure; SOP
based on; built on; made from
endless; boundless; innumerable; endless; never-ending; going on forever
(theatrical) blackout; taking a (sudden) turn for the worse; rapid deterioration
unpreparedness; falsehood; Chinese "Emptiness" constellation (one of the 28 mansions)
error of judgment; miscalculation; bad decision
congratulation; congratulations; celebration; congratulatory gift; present
foursome; group of four people; Gang of Four (Maoist political faction)
to blur; to shade off; to gradate; to obscure; to make ambiguous
change in appearance; transformation
to decline (of morals, character, etc.); to become vulgar (e.g. of a conversation); to stoop (to); to be ruined; to go under; to fall (into hell)
luckily; blessedly; fortunately
what's in one's heart; one's emotional state; what one feels
chain (bicycle, measuring, tire, etc.); chain (store, hotel, etc.)
to eat untidily; to eat messily; to eat a bit of everything; to leave things half-eaten; to dabble in (something); to try one's hand at (various things)
narrative-like structure; narrative style
to announce; to tell; to sentence; to order
warm welcome; friendly reception; hospitality; entertainment
bargaining point; terms of exchange; conditions for meeting a demand
oracle; revelation; divine message