favourable; favorable; doing well; OK; all right
to be (animate); to be; to be ...-ing; to have ...-ed; to be ...-ed; to (have the audacity to) do
that is so; that is right; it looks to me; people say that; it is said that; I hear that
irony; sarcasm; unexpected; different from what one expected; (only) surface; something superficial
unexpectedly; surprisingly
top brass; upper echelon; higher-ups; top management; upper reaches; top of the pile
to hand (over); to deliver in person
to receive; to get; to accept; to take (someone's words or behaviour); to interpret; to understand
to look downwards; to lower one's eyes
to write; to compose; to pen; to draw; to paint
being still half asleep; being half awake; being not yet quite awake
to scribble (down); to write quickly; to dash off
to collect; to put (it all) together; to summarize; to aggregate; to bring to a conclusion; to finalize
ceiling; ceiling (e.g. of share price); ceiling price
very; considerably; by no means; not readily; middle; half-way point
grasping; gripping; handful; fistful; handle; grip; onigiri
coward; namby-pamby; wimp; weak-kneed person; spineless person
to reign supreme; to assume the leadership (hegemony); to dominate
distance; range; difference (e.g. in opinion); gap; metric
centre; center; pivot; central nervous system
to (finally) arrive at; to reach (at last); to (manage to) get to; to find one's way to
even a little; any at all; if only a little; no matter how little
gear; cogwheel; cog (in an organization, company, etc.); cog in the machine
to continue to increase; to continue to mount
to make a decision; to draw a conclusion; to give a judgement; to hand down a verdict; to let go down; to lower; to do oneself
query; interrogation; enquiry; question; inquiry
to strike back at; to bite back; to turn on; to rise against; to oppose; to defy
to turn on one's heel; to turn back; to return
(a person's) appearance from behind; person as seen from behind; back view; retreating figure
order (from one's superior); command; what you say; (someone's) words
as (one pleases, one is told, etc.); wherever (e.g. one's feet take one); according to
hall; saloon; spacious room; reception room
silence; stillness; quietness
solitude; loneliness; isolation
helping hand; help; support; aid
to hold out; to extend (e.g. one's hands); to thrust (javelin); to offer (e.g. aid, help, etc.)
calmly; quietly; gently; be quiet!
gloomy (e.g. mood); depressing; irritating; troublesome; heavy (weather); cloudy