thorn; spine; splinter (esp. lodged in one's flesh); hard sharp item (esp. lodged in one's throat, e.g. fish bone); biting words
offense and defense; offence and defence
to wear; to be dressed in; to have on
suspicious; dubious; doubtful; unsure; untrustworthy; unreliable; strange
to wriggle; to squirm; to crawl like a worm
to crush; to squash; to flatten; to quash (a plan, opposition, etc.); to crush; to suppress
space; interval; space character; whitespace
to narrow; to reduce; to contract
what is called; what you call; what they call; so-called
stiffening; rigidity; rigor; stiffness; ossification; petrification
thank you (for your hard work); I appreciate your efforts
deadlock; standstill; stalemate; impasse; standoff
gaining time; stalling for time; time-buying
to doubt; to distrust; to be suspicious of; to suspect
to form; to shape; to make; to mold; to mould; to build up
to amass; to accumulate; to store; to leave unpaid
just (now, at the moment, etc.); just as; in the act of; as soon as; at the moment that
free (of restraint, controls, etc.); free (of charge); freelance; independent; freelancer; one-size-fits-all; free skating
spot; point; place; position
to burst open; to split open; to be bursting with (e.g. youth, laughter, flavor); to bounce; to bound
to stretch around (e.g. a fence, dragnet, etc.); to lay out (e.g. a wiring system, network, etc.); to string up (e.g. an antenna, ship's rigging, etc.)
preliminary arrangements; preparation; spadework; pre-cooking
simple honesty; tactless frankness
mesh-patterned; webbed; cancellous; cancellate; reticulate; reticulated
to hew; to chop up; to mangle; to mince
collection; recovery; withdrawal; retrieval
to tie; to bind; to fasten; to restrict (freedom); to tie down (with rules, regulations, etc.); to fetter
flight; desertion; escape
to plan; to attempt; to plot; to conspire; to aim for; to strive for
effect; virtue; efficacy; one's dominant eye
isolation; segregation; separation; quarantine
target (e.g. of a marketing campaign); subject (of a survey, investigation, etc.); intended audience; eligible person; person entitled (to); recipient
sleep; sleeping; inactivity; death
to drop; to lose; to clean off (dirt, makeup, paint, etc.); to remove (e.g. stains or facial hair); to lose (a match); to reject (an applicant); to lower (e.g. shoulders or voice)
belligerence; fighting spirit
cutting in two with a single stroke; taking decisive action; dealing with decisively; cutting the (Gordian) knot
bringing certain death; deadly; knockout (blow)
just right (time, size, length, etc.)
grotesque; bizarre; weird; grotesque (style)
beforehand; in advance; ahead of time; previously