in spite of; despite; although; nonetheless; nevertheless; but
party (social gathering); party (group of people participating in an activity, esp. mountain climbing); (political) party
reserving (for exclusive use); (full) booking; chartering; block reservation
story; tale; talk; discussion
typical; representative; archetypal; quintessential; stereotypical; model
the ostentation (bad taste) of the nouveau riche; air of vulgar prosperity
at any rate; anyhow; anyway; in any case; because
plan; idea; design; taste; liking; preference
to be (in contrast to something that is not the case)
January; first month of the lunar calendar
to hire for exclusive use; to reserve; to charter
to tell; to inform; to announce; to indicate; to signal; to mark
day; days; sun; sunshine; (the) day; daytime; date
to have been decided (so) that; to have been arranged (so) that
striding; swaggering; strutting; lording it over others; throwing one's weight around; acting as if one owns the place
party venue; place for a party; banquet hall
seems to be; appears to have; supposed to be
with a friendly grin; smilingly
half-hearted reply; vague answer; reluctant answer
hm; um; huh?; what?; nuh-uh; no
(I) will; (I) shall; let's; (I) wonder (if); might it be (that)
stealthily; secretly; in secret
whispering into a person's ear
too; also; still; as before; even so; either way
immediately; at once; soon; before long; easily; readily
understanding completely; understanding all there is to know
I got it; I see; I now know; so that's the reason
on the water; aquatic; waterside; water's edge
not necessarily so; is not always true; there is no guarantee that ...; there is no telling
gold (Au); golden; prosperous; money (esp. ōban coin); cash
it's OK to ...; it's best to ...; it's alright to ...
to nod one's head; to nod yes; to agree
to get angry; to get mad; to lose one's temper; to scold; to tell (someone) off
society; the world; the times
first come, first served; the early bird catches the worm
to be forestalled; to fall behind; to be one step behind
loss; damage; harm; disadvantage; handicap; drawback
with a pat; with a tap; with a pop; with a crack; casually (throw); carelessly
inside the kindergarten; inside the zoo; inside the garden; inside the park