as usual; as always; as before; as ever; still
futility; waste; uselessness; pointlessness; idleness
to spend; to expend; to waste; to squander; to devote
time; hour; period; class
truth; reality; proper; right; genuine; authentic
excluding; except (for); apart from; outside (a boundary, scope, etc.)
what kind of thing; anything (else); nothing (but)
is not ... either; is (neither ...) nor ...; nor is it ...; does not ... either; (neither ...) nor ...; does not even ...
statement; remark; observation; utterance; speech; proposal
top brass; upper echelon; higher-ups; top management; upper reaches; top of the pile
criticism; judgement; judgment; comment
to be hit; to strike; to touch; to be in contact; to be equivalent to; to be applicable; to be right on the money (of a prediction, criticism, etc.)
it is assuredly (that) ...; can say with confidence that it is ...
discussion; talk; tête-à-tête; conference
place; spot; field; discipline; occasion; situation; scene (of a play, movie, etc.)
confrontation; opposition; antagonism
ditch; drain; groove; tread; gap (between people, countries, etc.); gulf
to spread (out); to extend; to stretch; to reach to; to get around; to fill (e.g. a space)
local specialty or souvenir bought as a gift while travelling; present brought by a visitor; something unpleasant that one is given (e.g. an illness while on vacation); unwelcome gift
oh; ho; exclamation of surprise, admiration, etc.; hoo (owl call); toot (sound of a flute)
special characteristic; special quality; trait; idiosyncrasy; peculiarity
choices; alternatives; options
particle used to indicate the speaker's hope, desire, wish, etc. (e.g. "it would be nice if ...", "I wish there were ...", etc.); emphatic particle; particle adding uncertainty
to close one's eyes; to lower one's eyelids; to shut one's eyes; to die; to breathe one's last
chair; seat; stool; post; position; seat
deep (hole, forest, snow, etc.); dense (e.g. fog); thick (e.g. weeds, woods); close (e.g. relationship); deep (involvement); intense (e.g. longing, flavor); severe
to lean (on, against); to rest (against); to recline; to rely on (someone); to depend on
at that time; at that moment; then; on that occasion
what's the matter?; what's wrong?
that is not supposed to ...; that ought not to ...; that should never ...; that cannot possibly ...
to look into; to peep into; to peer into
what's the matter?; what's wrong?; what happened (to) ...?; what have you done (with) ...?; where is ...?
to look away; to avert one's eyes; to avoid facing (e.g. reality)
this time; now; next time; another time; recently; lately
formal; official; regular; proper; legal; due (formalities)
notice of personnel change (appointment, dismissal, etc.); wording; choice of language; phraseology
privacy; secrecy; confidentiality
to desire; to wish; to beg; to request; to have something done for oneself
roughly; broadly; generally; more or less
then; well; so; well then
congratulation; congratulations; celebration; congratulatory gift; present
appearing in unexpected places and at unexpected moments; elusive; phantom
to get used to; to grow accustomed to; to become skilled in; to become experienced at; to become tame; to become domesticated