preparations; preliminary arrangements; spade work; mise en place; groundwork
first and last (time, chance, etc.); (the) only
so much; so often; oh, yes!; that's it; that's right; quite
reincarnation; rebirth; transmigration; metempsychosis
to one's heart's content; as much as one likes; without reserve; freely; to the full
to stand in the way (esp. with legs spread out); to block the way; to stand in the way (e.g. of progress); to obstruct
to fill (with); to be filled with; to express (an emotion); to project (sadness, joy, etc.); to wear (e.g. a smile)
retainer; subject; vassal; servant
to fail to die (after attempting suicide); to fail to kill oneself; to come close to dying; to be almost killed; to survive (when others died); to outlive others
to mash; to grind; to pulverize; to dissipate (a fortune); to run through; to lose
combat readiness; battle readiness; fighting trim
to re-grip; to re-wrestle; to regroup (after some adverse event)
depths; deep place; bottom (of one's heart)
hoarse voice; husky voice
to chip (off); to shave off; to sharpen; to dampen (one's enthusiasm, interest, etc.); to reduce
thoroughness; completeness; consistency; thorough enforcement; seeing to it that a policy, etc. is carried out without exception
getting deeply involved; going deeply into; going too far (into something)
fine (grain, workmanship, etc.); close (weave); delicate; precise; accurate; careful
to knead well; to polish; to refine
finishing reading; non-serialised story (e.g. in a magazine); complete story; breaks and pauses (in a sentence)
in the hand; (something) easily manipulated
to trick; to cheat; to deceive; to seduce
puppet; marionette; puppet (person, organization, government, etc.); figurehead; (arch.) prostitute
hypothesis; supposition; assumption; tentative theory
to explain adequately; to be accountable
putting one's life on the line; staking one's life (on); risking one's life; life and death situation
all one's strength; desperate effort; (lit.) strength one has when ready to die
self-sacrifice; self-renunciation
to have one's breath taken away; to gasp (in surprise, wonder, etc.); to have one's breath catch in one's throat; to gulp
offense and defense; offence and defence
useless; futile; unnecessary; needless; not on business; unrelated
to surround; to encircle; to enclose; to fawn over (someone); to play up to; to curry favor with
first meeting; first interview with
to dazzle one's eyes; to hold one's gaze; to fascinate; to captivate
to excel; to surpass; to exceed; to outweigh; to preponderate
opening; gap; dried and opened fish; extension
to incline toward; to slant; to go down (sun, moon); to sink; to decline; to wane