top brass; upper echelon; higher-ups; top management; upper reaches; top of the pile
unidentifiable; unidentified
(surprise) attack; assault; raid; charge
to meet; to encounter; to see; to have an accident; to have a bad experience
these days; nowadays; today; at this time (of day); at this hour
riddle; puzzle; enigma; enigmatic; mysterious
reclamation (e.g. of wasteland); cultivation; development; pioneering; opening up (e.g. of a new market); breaking new ground
period; epoch; the times; those days; oldness; ancientness
probably not; probably won't; intend not to; will not; trying not to; attempting not to; whether you ... or not
and; besides; because; since; the thing is; for one thing
idiot; moron; stupid; foolish; trivial; insignificant; malfunctioning
such; that sort of; that kind of; no way!; never!
imitating; copying; mimicry; behavior; behaviour; action
practitioner; specialist; man (esp. one who is well-respected); samurai
how long; how far; how much
to take (a resource, e.g. time or money); to hang; to come into view; to arrive; to come under (a contract, a tax); to start (engines, motors); to attend
as is; as it is; as things are; like this; this way; at this rate
about; roughly; generally; on the whole; completely; quite
circle; "correct"; "good"; *; _; period
lieutenant colonel; commander (navy)
radio operator; telegraphist; telegraph operator; radio officer
example; instance; precedent; custom; habit
interruption; discontinuance; suspension; cancellation (of a planned event); calling off
retreat; withdrawal; retirement
chase; pursuit; tracking; following up; tracing
possible; potential; practicable; feasible
ship; boat; tank; tub; counter for boat-shaped containers (e.g. of sashimi)
good; advantage; sake; purpose; consequence; result
pursuit (of a fleeing enemy); chase; follow-up attack
abandoning (hope, plans); giving up
I'm told; is what I heard; is how it is, apparently; is what they said
which way; which direction; which one (esp. of two alternatives); who
to run away; to flee; to avoid (a question, responsibility, etc.); to evade; to win without being overtaken; to hold off the other contenders (until the finish)
gentle; quiet; mild; quiet (color, pattern, etc.); sober
to set free; to let go; to release; to miss (e.g. a chance); to lose; to let get away
to corner; to drive to the wall; to run down; to track down; to chase after
to strike; to hit; to attack; to bash; to sound out (someone's views); to pound (meat or fish); to chop into small pieces
opponent; rival; adversary; menace; danger; threat
survival; survivor; relic
this sort of; this kind of; like this; such
to get (information) out of someone; to extract (information) from someone; to find out (through questioning); to begin listening (to)
instant; moment; for an instant
to hesitate to say; to mumble; to hem and haw; to falter