skillful; adroit; craft; craftsmanship; plot; scheme
absolute best; very finest; top-class; first-rate; elite
careless person; scatterbrain; birdbrain; hasty person
different person; another person; someone else; changed man
how should I put it?; what shall I say?; well, you know; like
competition; rivalry; feeling that something is worth the effort; motivation; enthusiasm
feeling of tension; air of tension; tension; nervousness
to come out; to fall out; to fade; to discolour; to wear a hole (e.g. clothes); to leave (e.g. a meeting); to be clear
tempering (metal); annealing; forging; toughening; disciplining; training
will; desire; eagerness; interest; drive; motivation
readiness; (mental) preparedness; resolution; determination; resignation (to one's fate)
to spend; to expend; to waste; to squander; to devote
when it comes to ...; where ... is concerned; if it's the case that ...; if it turns out that ...; if it's true that ...
spare time; free time; time (it takes to do something); time required; time off; leave; dismissal
to be absent; to take a day off; to rest; to have a break; to go to bed; to (lie down to) sleep
that day; the very same day
original (written) work (i.e. a new novel, play, music, etc.); newly written work; specially written work; writing (a new work) specially (for a publication, film, exhibition, etc.)
short story; short film; short poem
grassy field; grassland; meadow; grass-covered plain; savannah; prairie
let's see what you've got; show me what you've got
in spite of; despite; although; nonetheless; nevertheless; but
roughly; broadly; generally; more or less
in order to; for the purpose of; must; should
to begin to rain; to begin to snow
cloudy sky; overcast sky; cloudy weather
far away; distant place; long ago; far back; by far
dull (e.g. a knife); blunt; thickheaded; obtuse; dull (sound, color, etc.); dim (light)
thunder; thunderclap; crash of thunder
to distance oneself (from); to keep (something or someone) at a distance; to maintain a distance (from)
isolated; standing alone; falling in drops (e.g. rain); saying a single word; muttering just a few words
to wet; to moisten; to dampen; to soak; to dip
to begin to fall (of rain, snow, etc.)
bang; bam; noontime signal gun (carried out early Meiji to Taishō); noon gun; last round in a game of 12 rounds; precisely
nothing; naught; nought; un-; non-
kimono; Japanese traditional clothing (esp. full-length); clothing; clothes
preemptive strike; preemptive attack; first strike
aura of a sword; spirit of a sword
spirit; drive; vigour; ambition; aspiration
to scatter away; to blast away; to blow away (via explosion)
pressure; pressure (e.g. political); arm-twisting
within expectations; as expected; within the scope of hypothesis or assumption