to cease; to desist; to cut it out; to lay off (an activity); to drop (a subject) to abolish; to resign
ticktock; chinking (e.g. of a hammer against rock); knocking; dry and hard; (frozen) stiff; hidebound
productive; constructive; meaningful
to injure; to damage; to kill; to hinder; to obstruct
self-examination; reflection
unable to do (as one wishes); able to do only with great effort; almost impossible to do; beyond one's control; not always turning out as one wishes; not going the way one wants it to
as before; as ever; as it was originally
fantasy; illusion; vision; dream
to slip out; to sneak away; to break into the lead; to get ahead; to begin to fall out (e.g. hair); to break out (of a loop)
bog; marsh; swamp; quandary; dire situation from which one cannot extricate oneself; imbroglio
rather; sooner; preferably
to one's heart's content; as much as one wants; as hard as one can; resolution; decisiveness; determination
to cling to; to hang onto; to rely on; to depend on; to implore; to entreat
optical illusion; hallucination; misapprehension; delusion
deception; make-believe; fake; counterfeit; phony
to wake up; to sober up; to come to one's senses; to become enlightened
no matter what; whatever happens; in any situation; rain or shine
to be broken; to break; to fall through; to come to nothing
the year end; end of the year; last days of the year
slowly (but steadily); gradually; bit-by-bit; slowly soaking in; slowly permeating; oozing out
everyday; daily; ordinary; usual; routine; regular
encroachment; erosion; corrosion
flow of time; flux of time; lapse of time; current of the times; trend of the times
twelfth month (esp. of the lunar calendar); December
average (normal, ordinary) year; every year; annually
particular; special; (not) particularly; (not) especially
same-day counting of ballots
new; neo-; newness; novelty; Gregorian calendar; Xin dynasty (China, 9-23 CE)
starting (machine, engine, car, etc.); activation
already; now; by this time; quick; early; fast
long ago; a long time ago; already
going in and out; entering and exiting; visiting regularly; frequenting; income and expenditure; incomings and outgoings; increase and decrease
to try to (do); to want to; to be about to (do, happen)
sentimental; mushy; sugary; saccharine; sickly-sweet
hopeless; futile; no use; beyond help; cannot be done
(inflected) end of a word; end of a sentence
in accordance with; according to; as X, then Y (e.g. as we age we gain wisdom, as wine matures it becomes more valuable, etc.)